Pokémon: Project Y
by PeppermintMilkshake7
Summary: It has been years since the infamous Team Flare has disbanded and peace has soared over the Kalos region over that time. However, something is casting a dark shadow upon the region and suddenly, there is a sense of foreshadowing that only Isobel, a new Pokémon Trainer whose Chespin is missing, can feel. Another threat has arisen, but it's not Team Flare...and they have her partner.
1. A New Adventure

Fletchlings chirp cheerfully and the sun's light trickles through the curtains, lighting up the large bedroom. A girl who was once absorbed in the soft blankets stirs lightly then opens her eyes, which are a vibrant green, matching well with long, curly golden hair. The girl rubs her eyes and yawns, dragging herself out of the bed with much difficulty onto the big rug that is designed to look like a fluffy Pokémon named Cottonee. It gazes with jolly eyes at the girl who struggles to get back on her feet. She doesn't appear to be very capable when it comes to mornings. Around the room are many other Pokémon dolls like an incredibly realistic-looking Snorlax doll that lays in its eternal nap. Or a Pancham sitting upon the Snorlax's stomach with a mischievous grin stuck to its face.

"Isobel!"

The girl named Isobel almost stumbles down the stairs with half-closed eyes to see her mother is looking more than energetic. Sometimes she wishes that she just as good in the mornings as her.

"Good morning. Oh, look at you, you're still in your pyjamas. Go back upstairs and change." Isobel doesn't find the energy to argue, so she goes back upstairs and changes out of her orange pyjamas and into a plain green long-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark jeans before putting on her bag. Finally, she takes a pair of orange-rimmed glasses from the desk and puts them on. Tying her hair into a ponytail as she goes down the stairs, she hears her mother talking to someone. Definitely not Isobel, but someone. She sees that some handsome, dark-haired man is on the sofa sipping a cup of coffee and he must have been keeping himself quiet when she first came downstairs.

"Who's this?" Isobel asks, her voice whispery, like a mouse.

"This is Professor Sycamore; he's come from Lumiose City." Her mom smiles.

"Professor Sycamore? The Professor Sycamore? It must have been a long journey." Isobel murmurs, her eyes flashing eagerly.

"Well," This Professor Sycamore begins, his voice quite the opposite of Isobel's with a rich French accent, "it didn't take that long to get here at all, actually! So, there's no need to worry about that. See, the thing is, I've come to give you your first Pokémon so you can go on a journey."

Isobel pauses. "A Pokémon? A Journey?"

"That's right. Is that expression on your face supposed to mean something good?"

"I..." Isobel pauses again. "Well, thank you, but I don't know..."

"I understand you're a bit nervous with this! A journey can be a scary thing. But, we all take one. If you feel like you want to start yours, then come and see me at my lab in Lumiose City. Au revo-"

"Wait, wait!" Isobel yells as the professor starts to get up. He hesitates, smiles, then sits back down. "Yes?"

"I want to go. I was just a bit...surprised." Isobel takes a glance towards her mother and changes her expression to that of a slightly confused one.

"Well, then! First we'll have you meet all of the others that are looking to start a journey with Pokémon as well, if that's alright? It'd be nice for you to go with friends, after all." Professor Sycamore says matter-of-factly. Isobel nods, not speaking since she feels like there's a Froakie stuck in her throat. She finds the idea of talking to others scary - she's made many mistakes whenever she tries to make friends, so she finds it easier to avoid people altogether. But, if she's going to start a journey, surely that would mean having to talk to people and getting out instead of staying in her room all the time playing Pokémon battle simulators. On the plus side, a journey means getting her own starter Pokémon and catching all those powerful Pokémon on the simulators, like Salamence and Garchomp and Metagross and-

"So that's a yes?" Sycamore says with a cough to snap Isobel out of her daydream.

"Yes," Isobel replies, "it's a yes."

"Good! Well then, let's go when you're ready. Thanks for that coffee, Anne." He gives Isobel's mother - Anna - a smile. Isobel raises a brow suspiciously but doesn't say anything. She waits patiently as her mother tells her to stay where she is as she fetches some things. She brings a map of the entire Kalos region and a big fancy-looking red and white wooden box.

"Wow, what's this?" Isobel gasps at the box, expecting something really amazing within.

"This is what I used to keep Poké balls in when I started my own journey. It's nothing impressive because, uh, it was actually a box of poffins I bought from Sinnoh when I went on vacation." She chuckles. Just in case there's anything in there, Isobel opens the box but there's nothing to be found. She is told to put the items in her bag so she does.

"Oh, I'm worried about you. Stay safe. You can always come right back home whenever you want." Her mother hands her something. Isobel glances down at it to see many Pokédollars in her hand. "Huh? What's all this for? There's so much, I can't take it all!"

"Don't worry, this was all saved up specifically for your journey so go ahead and take it! Out there you'll need to buy things like Potions, to heal your Pokémon when you get it, and Poké balls so you can catch new additions to your team. Trust me, I didn't bring money on my journey and boy do I regret that." Her mother laughs and Isobel gives her a hug to show how grateful she is. "Thanks, mom."

"No problem, kiddo."

"Well, then! Are we good to go?" Professor Sycamore calls. Isobel quickly pulls away from the hug to give him a nod and they leave the house. Anne gazes tearfully after them. "Well, there she goes." She mutters.

The light is even more dazzling outside than it looks inside. Isobel raises a hand against her forehead as if saluting to stare up at the blue sky, completely clear of clouds. The path to her house is made of cobblestones so she nearly trips on an uneven stone as she is occupied with admiring the blue above. The professor is walking ahead so luckily he didn't notice that - it would have been very embarrassing.

As they walk down the path, a group of other children dash past, but two of them stop to greet the professor. Isobel keeps her distance as they begin to talk, but Professor Sycamore turns and smiles at Isobel. "Come on, come and say hi. These two are starting their journey like you are. They won't bite."

Isobel hesitantly moves closer. "Hello." She says. She catches the attention of the two. The first is a boy, with dark skin, ruffled black hair and hawk-like yellow eyes, wearing a red shirt with a Machop on it and a pair of black trousers. He also has a cap on. He suddenly gives a wide grin but it almost looks forced.

"Hi, I'm Gwaine." He says and holds out his hand. Isobel looks at it and slowly takes it. They shake hands. The second is a girl who looks like she could be a model when she's older. She is tall - slightly taller than Gwaine - she possesses green eyes that are a darker shade than Isobel's own eyes. She wears a long summery dress and a flower hairclip in her fire-coloured, curly hair. She has a shoulder bag and it looks quite expensive. She isn't quite as elegant as her clothing because she gives off an air of ferocity. "Hey, my name is Scarlet. So, what's your name?"

"Um...Isobel." Isobel gives her best smile, but she's worried that it looks funny.

"Well, it's nice to see that you're all getting along now!" Professor Sycamore says. "Gwaine, do you have the Poké balls I gave you?"

"Oh, yeah!" Gwaine pulls off the rucksack on his back and rummages through it. He finds a small basket and takes it out, pausing for a second to decide whether or not he has really got the Poké balls but Sycamore takes it so he assumes that he has.

"These are the Pokémon that will start off your journey. No fighting now, I'll let you all decide for yourselves who has what." Slowly, the professor opens the box and the three all try to get their heads above it at once so they end up bumping them and rubbing their heads.

"Ow." Scarlet mumbles.

"I called dibs on Froakie earlier," Gwaine says quickly, "also I carried the Poké balls so I should get it."

"Yes, you did, Gwaine. Should we all agree that he gets the Water-type Pokémon, Froakie?" Scarlet asks, looking between Isobel and Gwaine. She moves gracefully as she does so. Isobel agrees and of course, so does Gwaine. He takes a Poké ball. Two left.

"Since I'm mature, I naturally allow others to choose before me. So, quiet girl, do you want the Fire-type Pokémon, Fennekin or the Grass-type Pokémon, Chespin?" Now everybody's eyes are focused on Isobel and she feels as if she's under pressure.

"I'm OK with any of them..." she mumbles, her voice quiet as she is desperate to avoid attention. She hasn't got much knowledge on either of those Pokémon so she isn't sure of what she should have.

"Alright, then. I will take Fennekin. Since it's a Fire-type Pokémon you might burn yourself by accident if you have it. Plus, I like Fire-types." Scarlet took a Poké ball and the final, the one in the middle, sits there and Isobel is excited. The battle simulators were good, but this is for real, and finally, she gets a Pokémon of her own. She reaches out a hand and takes the Poké ball. It feels cool to touch and she raises it to her face. "Wow." She mumbles. Holding it makes her feel like she is a real trainer...and she is a real trainer now.

"That was argument-free. Good job!" Professor Sycamore says, as he is genuinely surprised. He must have experienced a lot of new trainers arguing amongst themselves over who gets what. Isobel clicks the button in the middle of the ball, mostly out of curiosity, but it opens and a bright light shoots from it onto the ground and all of a sudden, a little Pokémon is standing there, shaking its head. It's mostly brown and green and it turns its face to look at its new trainer with an interested expression.

"This is Chespin?" Isobel asks, her voice slightly higher in tone than usual.

"Yes. Do you like her?" Professor Sycamore asks.

"She's really sweet." Isobel pets Chespin's head, carefully avoiding the spines. It enjoys the attention, but it's shy as it smiles. Seeing the Pokémon, Gwaine and Scarlet seem very excited to get a glimpse of their own new partners and they send out Froakie and Fennekin. Froakie is very feisty and doesn't seem to be able to keep still; Fennekin is quite calm and lets himself be picked up by his new trainer without much fuss. Scarlet keeps petting the fur, admiring how soft it is. Though Gwaine can't pick up his own Froakie due to his energy, he seems really proud of him and keeps talking about how he is going to train him to be powerful.

At this point, Isobel has forgotten about catching strong Pokémon in the future and stares endearingly at Chespin. "Hmm, I'll name you Nutty." She says, much to the approval of the little Grass-type.

"I'll take you all to my Pokémon Lab in Lumiose City, since you'll need to pass it to get to the other places. While you're there, I'll get you all a Pokédex, which is a device used to obtain information on Pokémon, to expand my research and help you out with understanding Pokémon. I have plenty of Poké balls and Potions and other useful things there for trainers as free items for starters as well." Professor Sycamore says, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his coat. Scarlet nods eagerly. "Sounds good!" She says, rubbing Fennekin's ears.

"I have an idea. How about we have a battle to test these bad boys out, huh?" Gwaine asks. Isobel shakes her head. "No, thanks..." she mumbles. She doesn't want to lose, but Gwaine seems persistent. "Come on, let's battle. Isobel. Please?"

"You're going to lose if you try to battle a Grass-type with a Water-type, you know." Scarlet points out. Gwaine shrugs. "But if Froakie wins, then that means he is special."

"I believe Pokémon are special in different kinds of ways. A Pokémon that is special doesn't always have to mean that it is strong." Scarlet then turns red-faced as she is embarrassed but Professor Sycamore pats her shoulder.

"You are exactly correct! It seems like you're already going to become a good trainer!" He says, making her jump as his voice is bursting with optimism.

"I just don't think a new Pokémon should be battling, because it should warm up to me first." Isobel says. Her words were the result of pulling the nearest excuse out of her head but Gwaine instantly counters them.

"But battling is a good way for it to warm up to you!" He replies.

"Okay. I'll battle." Isobel sighs and slowly puts Nutty down on the floor, her heart beginning to thump. Gwaine finally gets Froakie to calm down so it can focus on its enemy. Professor Sycamore and Scarlet both stand back to watch.

"Okay, how do I do this? Use Pound, Froakie, on the Chespin!" Gwaine points at Nutty and for a moment Isobel is concerned because her new partner looks frightened. It feels very different to a Pokémon battle on the battle simulator. It feels real. Very real. But, the battle simulator training hasn't gone to waste.

"Nutty, defend yourself from the attack!" Isobel calls. The Chespin whips around so that it is facing its trainer and closes its eyes as the spines on its head and back stick up. It braces itself for the impact and the Froakie slams into it. The attack does nothing against Nutty's shell. As it is still close, Isobel sees the opportunity for her Chespin to attack.

"Nutty! Vine Whip!"

Chespin whirls around and two flashes of green is all Froakie can see before it is hit. It is thrown back and groans weakly as it tries to recover from the attack. Isobel feels a little guilty, since this is a real creature rather than one with artificial intelligence, but doesn't let that get in the way. After all, she knows she'd rather the opponent go down than her own Pokémon.

Nutty stands, ready for its trainer's next order. Froakie manages to stand back up and Gwaine looks worried but orders it to use Bubble. Froakie shoots spheres out from its mouth at the Chespin but it doesn't appear to be doing much damage.

"Tackle!" Isobel calls. Nutty charges towards Froakie but due to its natural agility it evades with ease by jumping over it. Nutty turns and Isobel orders it to Vine Whip. This time, Froakie is unable to dodge; the vines are unpredictable as when it attempts to jump again, they strike upwards and the frog Pokémon falls to the ground, unconscious.

"Froakie?!" Gwaine calls, holding his own head.

"Froakie has fainted. It appears as if Isobel has won." Professor Sycamore says. "Good job, Isobel!"

"It wasn't that impressive...I mean, I did have a type advantage." Isobel says as if it is no big deal. Even so, she is exhilarated at her first Pokémon battle, her first win, and her heart won't settle. Gwaine returns his Pokémon to its Poké ball, looking disappointed. "I couldn't do it."

"It just wasn't a good match-up is all. You tried your best." Professor Sycamore said, reassuring him. Gwaine then nods and understands.

Isobel pats Nutty's head and gives her a smile. "Good job. You're very good at battling." She says. Of course, Nutty basks in that compliment proudly.

"Well, then. There's a shop in Aquacorde Town where you can both heal your Pokémon." Professor Sycamore then catches the look on Gwaine's face and chuckles. "Don't worry, it's free, and it's just a short walk through the route up here." The professor then turns and points towards the open gates at a small lane; a town is seen far ahead. The four head towards it, with Isobel walking slower. She's enjoying the scenery, with the grass so green and the trees majestic and beautiful, with the little Pokémon crawling about and watching them but Gwaine is getting impatient. "Come on, Slowpoke, you're holding us back! I need to heal Froakie!"

"Why do you need me?" Isobel snaps. "Just go on ahead; I'm not stopping you."

Gwaine huffs and walks ahead of the others, reaching the town before they do. A sign sitting nearby points him to the shops and he enters one. Scarlet and the professor linger outside of the building and Isobel finally reaches the shop, enters, and sees Gwaine standing there with his back to her, talking to the lady behind the desk. Isobel stands nearby, not saying anything.

"Hello there!" The lady calls to her.

Isobel looks at her blankly.

"Do you want to heal your Pokémon?" The lady asks. Isobel nods quietly and returns Nutty to its Poké ball, then passes it to the woman. Gwaine looks at her oddly as the woman enters a door behind the counter. "Why are you so shy all of a sudden?" He asks.

"I'm just feeling a bit protective," Isobel lies.

"You don't go out much, do you? You're kinda pale...I can tell. There's no need to worry, they aren't going to bite, you know?" Gwaine shrugs and gives a reassuring smile but Isobel can't stop the nagging feeling. It's always there around other people. She avoids eye contact with Gwaine and instead finds herself watching the door where the lady is healing Froakie and Chespin. She returns soon enough and passes their Poké balls back to them. "They're all good to go now!"

"Thanks." Isobel replies with a tone indicating disdain in her voice. The duo leave and they meet the others along with the familiar stunning sunshine. As she says hello once again, Isobel spots the bridge that leads to a very grassy area and heads towards it despite Gwaine asking her where she's going. She stops upon the bridge and gazes over it at the water. Bright blue, beautiful glittering water. It makes her smile and she sees a Goldeen swimming gracefully, with its fins like that of a very frilly dress. She watches it go underneath the bridge and then to the other side, swimming and swimming to wherever its destination may be.

"You like Water-type Pokémon?" A voice asks from behind. Isobel jumps and its Scarlet, staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"They have a lot of freedom," Isobel replies, not properly answering her question.

"Not as much freedom as Flying-type Pokémon. I'd say some of the Water-types are confined to things like ponds and rivers, but the birds can go anywhere they want."

"That's true."

Professor Sycamore reaches them with Gwaine. Isobel turns around. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like to walk to Lumiose by myself. It's just that I want to enjoy everything here while I can, rather than rush, and I don't want to hold anyone back..." She gazes at Gwaine for a moment and he looks a bit hurt but the professor nods. "Well, that's fine. I was about to demonstrate how to catch a Pokémon, though, if you want to see that before we head off?"

Isobel hesitaties; she's already seen Pokémon caught before...on TV. But only rookie trainer shows demonstrate how to catch things like more common Pokémon and such. Isobel only watched the programs where people caught things like a rare Pokémon. So, she decides that it is a good idea to see how Professor Sycamore catches a Pokémon.

"Alright."

"Good! Then, let's go over here quickly." They scurry over to the patches of tall grass that sway with a faint breeze that carries a fresh scent. The professor leans down and takes a Poké ball from his pocket and observes the grass.

"The best way to spot a Pokémon is to be very quiet." He then releases his Pokémon; a little green quadruped creature with a bulb on its back.

"Bulbasaur, use Tackle." Sycamore orders. The Pokémon launches itself forwards and hits something in the grass. A Fletchling flies out.

"You have to weaken it as much as possible. Then, you throw a Poké ball. Make sure you've got a good aim. If you don't have a good aim, well...I suppose practice is always viable." The professor takes another Poké ball - this time empty - and throws it. It connects with the Fletchling and a blue light emanates from the ball, to the Flying-type Pokémon, and then the ball rocks.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then it clicks.

"You have to make sure you hear that clicking sound after it rocks three times. That means you have caught it. Be careful; the Pokémon can break out. I believe there is a shop that sells Poké balls in this town if you are too impatient to wait until we get to the laboratory. I recommend it, since there are Pokémon here that you might want but won't be able to catch if you have no Poké balls." The professor picks up the ball containing the new addition to his team and the trio of fledgling trainers gaze in fascination at it. Instantly wanting to catch Pokémon as well, they all headed to the shop to buy Poké balls. Gwaine bought about ten of them, and Scarlet bought twenty, since she has a lot of money from her parents. Isobel, though excited to catch Pokémon, uses her money wisely and buys only five Poké balls and keeps them in the box in her bag.

In the next moment Scarlet and Gwaine are both hunting around for creatures to catch. Isobel decides not to join them, as she knows the Pokémon are going to be scared off quickly anyway. She instead sits at a table located near the first route and Professor Sycamore comes to say goodbye as they are leaving.

Isobel waves them off.

She knows that her mother probably would have preferred it if she went with them, but Isobel feels this is most likely the best way to do everything; feeding her new partner, training it, taking on trainers and gym leaders. It's all best done alone, she thinks, and she can take as much time as she wants or do it as quickly as she wants. Besides, she'll surely meet them once or twice at least as they are all going to the same towns and Pokémon gyms in the future.

As Isobel released Nutty from her Poké ball, she decides that training it would be good for now, and especially since there's someone who will heal her Pokémon. What the future holds, she can't exactly see, and who knows what's beyond that bridge? Well, according to her map, it's Santalune City, but the forest to get to it looks quite big. After an hour of vigorous training with her Chespin, Isobel sets off towards the forest and hesitates at the sign that reads:

"Santalune Forest ahead. Bring plenty of Potions and Status-curing items!"

Then she enters.


	2. Enter the Fletchling

Santalune forest is a maze - a new world - of nature and Pokémon. The trees branches spread out further than trees normally would, creating a ceiling of leaves with light trickling down through small gaps. It's quite dark, because a lot of sunlight isn't able to get through to it, creating the perfect environment for Pokémon to hide from both predators and trainers alike. Isobel originally expected the forest to be deserted of trainers but she was wrong; many trainers are here honing the skills of their Pokémon. Isobel's training with Nutty paid off, because she hasn't lost to any trainer so far. Many of them have Scatterbugs and Fletchlings, the most common Pokémon located here. Even though nearly all of the Pokémon here have a type advantage against Nutty, the move that it has learned lately, Rollout, has been very effective in taking them out. So far, that's Isobel's favourite move to use.

Isobel walks on the shorter grass with Nutty trotting by her side, still full of energy. Occasionally she takes a glance at the grass and hasn't had much luck finding Pokémon in tall grass. In fact, she's certain that the only wild Pokémon she has seen in tall grass was that Fletchling that Professor Sycamore caught as a demonstration. It was most likely due to the number of trainers training and searching for Pokémon here. She did see a few Caterpies in trees and some Metapods hanging from thin yet unusually strong pieces of strings from the tree branches, though. But she isn't looking for Caterpies or Metapods. She has taken an interest in Fletchlings lately, since she still remembers Scarlet's words, "Birds can go anywhere they want". She isn't sure why that Pokémon catches her interest due to this, but she knows that she wants one.

Walking further, she sees a female trainer with a Fletchling that has just finished off a battle against another trainer. The second trainer, a youngster of a trainer, looks disappointed and he heads off. Isobel shyly approaches her and mumbles a small, "Hello".

"Do you want to battle?" The trainer asks, her Pokémon now perched upon her shoulder.

"I...would like to know where I can catch a Fletchling." Isobel replies.

"I'll gladly tell you that, but first, let's battle. Please?" The trainer suddenly gives her puppy eyes and Isobel isn't quite able to say no. First of all, because of those eyes, and second of all, she wants to know how to get a Fletchling. Nutty takes its place in front of Isobel and the bird Pokémon flutters down to the ground.

"Okay, Nutty. You know what to do. Rollout." Chespin curls up into a ball and launches itself like a bullet towards Fletchling. It dodges the attack by flying up into the air.

"Use Quick Attack!" The female trainer yells. Fletchling moves like a blur as it strikes at the spinning ball of green, but it gets hit by one of the spines and therefore gets hurt. It decides to keep its distance in the air.

"Keep using Rollout, don't let it hit you." Isobel says, taking note of the advantage that Chespin has. As long as it is aware of the shell on its back and the spines, it will hopefully be able to steer away from harm.

"Attack!" Isobel yells. The spiralling Grass-type bounces up at Fletchling and strikes it, knocking it from the air. But it doesn't seem to be done, which surprises Isobel, because it usually takes one hit from Chespin's Rollout to defeat Fletchlings.

"Huh...use Tackle and finish it off." Isobel says. Nutty uncurls from the ball and turns. However, the trainer orders the Fletchling to use Peck. Isobel has never seen that move being used by a Fletchling before; this one must be a higher level. In fact, it might just win. Fletchling lashes out with its attack and knocks Chespin over with little effort, and Isobel knows that was a super-effective attack as Nutty looks weak already.

"Curl into a ball." Isobel says. Nutty obeys, curling up with its face towards the ground. Fletchling goes to attack with another Peck. As it is about to strike at the last minute, Isobel orders Nutty to use Vine Whip upwards, just as it did to knock out Gwaine's Froakie in their first battle. The vines that come from Nutty's back manage to hit Fletchling, taking it by surprise, and it falls to the ground again.

"Tackle!" Isobel calls as she notices Fletchling still isn't giving way. The Pokémon appears disorientated but it's still going. Nutty springs up and launches its Tackle as fast as it can, throwing the Flying-type back a fair distance and then finally defeating it.

Isobel lets out a relieved sigh, her heart hammering away at her chest, and the female trainer looks miserable as she returns her Pokémon. "Good fight. You had a solid strategy there."

"Good job." Isobel says as she smiles and pets the exhausted Chespin. It gives her a proud grin. She returns it to its Poké ball for the time being and puts it in her bag. "So, how do I find one of those Pokémon?"

"I found mine by plucking some berries from the tree and putting them on the floor. A guide book told me to do that with a lot of bird Pokémon since they can be hard to catch, having wings and all. My little baby came down from a tree to eat them and I caught it then." The female trainer explains. She then turns and points up at a big tree and berries hide among the leaves. "I got the berries there. I guess you could try getting them from a bush but the purple ones in the trees are the berries that Fletchlings love to eat so it's probably easier."

Isobel gazes up at the tree. It is big. She observes the tree with its branches and sees a possible way to climb it. Looks like it might work. Hanging her bag on a low branch, Isobel steps up on one of the tree's limbs then grabs another and pulls herself up. She repeats this until she spots a bunch of berries hanging on the fingers of one of the trees big branches.

"Don't look down," she mumbles to herself. She climbs on top of the branch and carefully worms across it, avoiding a Weedle that stares at her curiously. She stretches out her hand towards a big, single, juicy berry that especially looks delicious and quickly snags it from among the leaves. "Yes!"

Then, she carefully crawls backwards, avoiding the Weedle again. It moves closer. "Stop it, little guy," she mumbles to it, "come on. Back off. Please."

The Weedle reaches out with its little stubby foot and pokes Isobel's arm as more of a playful gesture than anything, but the girl is too worried about that stinger on its head and tail. She finally manages to reach a branch with her foot and the bug stops pestering her as she climbs down. Then she lands on the ground smiling at her successful attempt to get a berry. There's just one problem, though...

Where is her bag?

Isobel looks at all of the lowest branches of the tree she climbed just moments ago but none of them have a bag on it. Rubbing the back of her head, Isobel searches nearby, in the grass. Nowhere. She spots the female trainer with a new Pokémon, an odd blue monkey named Panpour, and approaches her. She finds herself unable to speak properly, fearing for her Chespin. "H-have you seen my bag? I...I left it near the tree...while I got a berry."

The trainer ponders for a moment. "Hmm, I did see some weirdo go past here. They had a weird suit, sunglasses and a red scarf on. What was in your bag?"

"My Pokémon..." Isobel looks at the floor. That makes the female trainer frown. "Well, then! That's Pokémon abduction! That's an unforgiveable crime that I'm going to stop! Come on, Panpour."

"Thank you!" Isobel cried. "Thank you, er..."

"My name is Jade." The trainer says, turning and running off into a direction. Isobel follows closely, concerned for Nutty. What's going to happen if they don't get her back, and who is this person? The image that Isobel got from Jade's description of the person doesn't look good at all - this could only mean trouble.

Rushing nearly makes Isobel trip - she isn't good with running so she reminds herself to be careful. As they move they see a dark figure walking through the forest, and as they get closer, they see him clearer. A tall male in an odd grey suit, a scarf and a pair of sunglasses on his face, just as Jade described.

"Hey!" Jade yells. The man turns around; Isobel's bag is in his hand. He gives a smile, and not a friendly one. This person looks scary, and that's just one of many words to describe him.

"Hello there, is there a problem?" He asks innocently, but his voice can't fool anyone. He's a thief to these people and he knows it, simply because of the nasty grin on his face.

"That bag belongs to this girl." Jade says in a harsh voice.

"I'm sorry honey, it's my bag. I was looking for it all day. If you're looking for your bag, try to search in the grass; people usually end up dropping things in there."

"It's my bag." Isobel says, shaky, not from fear but anger.

"Well, in that case, come and get it." The man laughs mockingly, but Jade doesn't see the funny side of it. "Laugh at this. Panpour, use Scratch!"

The blue monkey Pokémon launches itself towards the man's face and he cries out, falling over and dropping the bag. He quickly grabs a Poké ball from his belt and releases a Pokémon; it's a small brown lion cub Pokémon with a tuft of red fur on its head.

"Litleo, use Tackle." the man barks. Litleo leaps towards Panpour, stretching out its paws, ready to take it down.

"Water Gun!" Jade calls. Before Litleo can hit its foe, water spurts forcefully at it from Panpour's mouth, knocking it back a few metres. It lays there and even though it is told to get back up by its trainer, it has fainted, unable to take a super-effective attack of such great power.

"Damn it all!" The man yells. He returns Litleo to its Poké ball and runs without the bag, Panpour at first chasing after him. It comes back after a while and leaps into a proud Jade's arms. "Good job, Panny!"

Isobel runs towards her bag and leans down, opening it to see if her Chespin's Poké ball is in there so that she can release it and comfort it. She keeps rummaging through the bag. She is horrified as she can't find it among empty Poké balls.

"She's gone," she cries.

"What?" Jade asks as she walks closer with a troubled look on her face.

"My Chespin. Nutty. She's gone. He definitely still has her." Isobel stares at the bag, light green eyes glistening with tears. She pulls off her glasses and wipes her eyes with her wrist. Jade, who seems to sympathize with her fiercely well, starts to run again, towards the direction of where the man had gone. Isobel doesn't try to call after her, or join her. She stays there crying and as Jade eventually returns, she is a mess.

"Don't worry, I've called the police. They'll make sure you get Chespin back. They won't let this criminal steal your Pokémon." Jade then leans down as Isobel doesn't look convinced. "Come on, chin up, where are tears going to get you? Look, I know you're scared for it. I can't begin to imagine what would happen if my own Pokémon was stolen but you're not going to achieve anything like this. Do something for Chespin."

"Like what?" Isobel asks, her face red and wet. "I can't do anything without a Pokémon."

Jade slowly turns her gaze towards the floor, where Isobel dropped the berry during her crying. "Actually, you can get a Pokémon right now."

Isobel looks at the berry quietly and she knows what Jade means. "But I need a Pokémon to weaken it."

"No, you don't. I caught my Fletchling without a Pokémon, because I know that if I wanted one, there was only one way to get it. You can do it. Come on. I won't let you be a snivelling mess, okay?" Jade grabs Isobel's shoulders roughly, startling her.

"Okay." Isobel replies doubtfully. She leans down and picks up the berry in her hand and can hardly see it through eyes so blurred with tears. She blinks and wipes them away again, then takes out a few Poké balls from her bag and places the berry on the floor. Then Isobel and Jade hide among the tall grass.

Minutes tick by. Jade kept a hand on Isobel's shoulder, a hand that said, "Don't worry, your Pokémon will be fine".

Slowly, a Pokémon approaches the berry, a small bird-like Pokémon that Isobel instantly recognizes as a Fletchling. Upon seeing it, she cheers up a little. She takes the Poké ball in her hand and holds it tightly, ready to throw, but freezes. Then she throws it, and despite her hand shaking so much due to her overwhelming emotions, the Pokémon is encased within the Poké ball. It shakes once, then twice, but then it breaks out. Jade squeezes her shoulder tightly and then Isobel takes another ball that she throws while Fletchling is in mid-flight.

Isobel holds her breath as the Poké ball lands in the grass and rocks. She counts to herself quietly, hearing nothing but her heart beating and the Pokémon shaking its container, trying to break out. One, two, three, and click.

Fletchling is captured. Jade snaps her fingers.

"Good catch. See, you have a Pokémon now, and then you can get Chespin back." Jade turns her gaze towards Isobel; her face is almost vacant, albeit red due to previously crying. She stands up and walks out of the grass, picking up the Poké ball with her new companion within it and Jade follows. Seconds later, a voice calls them. "Hello! You two!"

Jade lifts her gaze and sees an official-looking woman with a tiny orange, striped canine of a Pokémon by her side. She has a heart-warming smile on her face, but she also appears fierce. She means business.

"My name is Officer Jenny. Did you call me for a crime?"

Jade nods. "A man has stolen this girl's Pokémon. A Chespin. He wears a grey suit and he has sunglasses, and a red scarf. And...black hair."

Officer Jenny wrote these details down in a notepad. "Don't worry. We'll find this man right away and set him straight for justice!"

The Pokémon with her suddenly raises its nose and sniffs, then turns, running to search for the criminal with the officer following it. Somehow, Isobel has the feeling that this Officer Jenny won't be able to find the man as she stares after her with a melancholic expression on her face.

"Hey, come on. I'll lead you to Santalune City; we can be companions until you get Chespin back, okay? It'll be exciting." Jade holds Isobel's arm, but the smaller girl gazes at her and knows that the only reason Jade wants to stay with her is because she wants to cheer her up. Isobel shakes her head.

"Huh? You don't want to go with me?" The girl asks, disappointment in her tone.

"No, I'm...it's okay. I'd prefer to go alone." Isobel gives her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"You sure? Well...okay. I need to stay in this forest for a bit, but...I mean, if you ever want to talk or something, I have a Holo Caster, so-"

"I don't have one of those...sorry." Isobel bows her head towards the ground. Jade looks as disappointed as her voice sounded a few seconds ago when she spoke. Then she shrugs. "Okay. I'm sure we'll meet again. Um, good luck with finding your Pokémon."

"Thank you. Goodbye." Isobel turns and begins to walk along, deep in her thoughts as she stares at the wildlife around her.

Why would anyone be so cruel to steal another person's Pokémon?

She sighs and shakes her head. She switches her gaze to the Poké ball in her hand and then realizes she didn't open it earlier. She presses the button in the middle and Fletchling is released from the ball. It fluffs up its feathers then turns to watch its trainer. Isobel leans down and hesitantly reaches out with her hand, not trusting the Pokémon at first. But it didn't seem to be bothered by the hand and lets her pet its head.

"Alright, little guy. Guess we'll need to get you some training while we can." Isobel says. With that, she searches for Pokémon and trainers, making sure her bag and her own Pokémon are in her sight. Thinking of Chespin either made her hope drop, or her determination rise. Eventually she decided that it is going to make her stronger so that she could fight that person with a powerful Pokémon. Two hours later, Isobel walks out of Santalune forest with her Fletchling in its Poké ball. She holds it tightly in her hand, protectively, as she sees many people walking around. Suddenly, the whole world seems very different, very dangerous. Though people smile and aim to be welcoming, Isobel realizes how distrustful she is. All of the glances towards her eventually pushes her to enter a nearby shop to escape the attention. She catches a light, fresh scent as she sees clothes all around her; stylish clothes, cute clothes, sporty clothes, plain clothes and a whole lot of hats. She wanders the boutique and sees a few things she likes, such as a blue and white striped shirt that she picks up and decides to buy. She also buys a coat, just in case. She puts on the shirt in the changing rooms and leaves the shop. The attention she had has disappeared now and people simply get on with their business.

Isobel walks through the city and she notices that it is quite a peaceful place. There are signs that point her to the Pokémon Gym, which she wasn't told about. Luckily, she knows about gyms and other basic things already. The sign near the gym states that the gym leader uses Bug-type Pokémon, which is a relief since Isobel has the type advantage with her Fletchling being a Flying-type. First, though, she locates the city's Pokémon Center and heals the hard-working new addition to her team then leaves.

Really, Isobel isn't sure why she wants to defeat the Gym Leader. After all, she isn't really interested in collecting gym badges. If she still had Chespin she would definitely have a different opinion of the idea and would probably not bother entering the gym. But now, for some reason, she felt absolutely compelled to take on this challenge. Maybe it's because of the type advantage? Maybe she wants to become strong by trying to take on the strong? Either way, Isobel enters the gym.

The whole place is designed most likely after Santalune forest. Trees and trees as far as the eye can see, with grass covering the ground. Many giant cocoons of perhaps colossal Bug-type Pokémon are scattered around in the trees; it's a haven for Caterpies and Weedles and even a Butterfree floats freely across the gym-forest. When she was younger, Isobel used to watch trainer television shows and Viola's gym looked entirely different than it used to when it was showcased in one of these shows. The gym leader, Viola, is sitting down tending to a Scyther. It sees Isobel and jumps up and flies away. Viola turns her gaze towards the new challenger and smiles. She also looks different; her usually short hair has grown out and is how kept braided. She stands up and walks towards the girl.

"Hello, there."

"Hi." Isobel replies.

"You're a challenger, aren't you?" Viola asks, tilting her head with a smile.

"Yes."

"That's just fantastic! I haven't taken a few snaps of a new challenger for a while now."

Isobel doesn't reply. She just nods and smiles.

"You're a quiet one, aren't you? Well, hm, I hope you're not camera shy. Do you want to get this battle going? You ready to start shooting?"

Isobel nods again and the two take their places. All of a sudden, there's a flash and Isobel gawps and blinks. She realizes that Viola has just taken her picture and she frowns slightly. "Could you maybe wait until the battle is over?" She mumbles.

"Huh?" Viola isn't able to hear her.

"Um...don't...don't worry." Isobel puts her bag by her side and releases Fletchling from its Poké ball. Viola takes out a Poké ball and even from here, somehow, Isobel can feel a strong energy emanating from it; strength, an aura. She shudders slightly. Viola releases the Pokémon No. 047, Surskit.

Surskit analyzes its enemy and Isobel takes a breath. "Fletchling, use Peck." she says. She had her Pokémon master that attack in Santalune forest, and the training there is surely not going to waste. At first, Fletchling was clumsy battling in a forest with so many trees that it could bump into, but gradually it honed its agility so fighting in this environment should be fine. Isobel is mostly concerned about the new Pokémon she is going against. She knows that Surskit is a Bug-type, but, she doesn't know what it can do.

Fletchling swooped down upon Surskit but its trainer doesn't even need to tell it to dodge; evading attacks is second nature for it, clearly. As soon as the Surskit moves out of the way it is ordered to use Bubble. Isobel recognizes the move when she hears it. Thinking of when Nutty fought Froakie, her eyes become blurry again but she wipes the tears away, angry at herself for being like this in a gym battle. However, when she sees Fletchling, it's on the ground, weak. While Isobel was reminiscing, she didn't give her Pokémon an order to dodge, she didn't tell it to do anything. It was hit by Surskit's attack.

A bad start, Isobel thought, anger rising again. This time, she doesn't let her emotions distract her from the battle. "Fletchling, get up. Come on, you can do this." She says, her voice more pushy than encouraging. The tiny robin Pokémon scrabbles to its feet and flies up in the air.

"We'll have to be careful this time, Fletchling. Stay cautious. Use your special Quick Attack." Isobel orders it with her voice clear, just in case her Pokémon can't hear her. Fletchling dashes towards Surskit and manages to land a hit that is a combination of its Quick Attack and Peck. This is a strategy that Isobel invented up while battling Bug-types in Santalune forest; use Quick Attack and then hit foes with Peck when it was close. She named it the "special Quick Attack" and somehow, its become the strategy's code name.

Despite the heavy damage dealt to it, Surskit is still up and running and since Fletchling is close, it retaliates with its own Quick Attack. The bird Pokémon luckily doesn't take too much damage but its clearly weak.

"Another Peck, go. One more and you'll beat it." Isobel calls.

"Ice Beam!" Viola yells. Shock causes Isobel's eyes to widen as she didn't expect such an attack and she has no time to order Fletchling to get out of the way; it's hit and the powerful ice strikes it down as soon as it makes contact with its foe. A nasty blow, a super-effective attack that is too much for Fletchling to handle.

Fletchling faints.

Isobel has lost.


	3. A Snapshot of What's to Come

"Fletchling...?" Isobel walks over to her Pokémon and it's sprawled out, unconscious, somewhat stiff. She picks Fletchling up and pets it. "You did your best," she murmurs, hoping that it can hear her even in this state. It stirs slightly and relaxes and Isobel assumes that it heard. She withdraws it into its Poké ball.

"That was a good battle, but, is that your only Pokémon?" Viola asks, praising and then withdrawing Surskit. Isobel slowly gives a nod, then lowers her head and shakes it. "No, it's not my only Pokémon, but..."

"But what?" Viola asks, moving closer. "Have you got other Pokémon? Was that a snapshot of what's to come?"

Isobel shakes her head again. "No, I don't...not at the moment." She swallows back her misery and raises her head towards the gym leader.

"Well, I think that battle was just fantastic while it lasted. You did very well, but you got a bit distracted at the beginning, which gave you a disadvantage. I can't help but wonder what was going through your mind right then?" Viola's voice rose to a questioning tone and Isobel assumes that she is asking what went on at the moment her challenger allowed her Pokémon to get hit.

"I just...reacted slowly is all. I'm still new to battles." Isobel replies. Viola takes that as a viable answer and gives her a smile. "Well, I think you're quite good at them from this angle! I'd say you just need more Pokémon and more training, so there's no need to get a little discouraged. Take it from a top-class photographer. Once you feel confident in your partners, come back and challenge me again."

Isobel waves as she leaves the gym. With that information in mind, she heals her Pokémon. If she was the same person who stepped into Santalune forest, losing would have smashed her confidence into pieces and pushed her back home. But she can't afford to go home, not now that she has something to fight for. In some ways, losing her Chespin was a good thing, but from Isobel's perspective, it's simply devastating.

Once Fletchling was healed by the kind Nurse Joy, Isobel steps out of the Pokémon Center. An elderly man trudges along and then Isobel calls to him.

"Excuse me!"

He ignores her.

"Excuse me, sir! Sir?" Isobel waves.

The man turns his head and gazes at her, looking a bit startled that someone is trying to talk to him. "Oh, are you talking to me? I'm sorry, my hearing isn't quite what it used to be."

"Um, it's okay, no need to apologize. I was just wondering, is there a place to catch Pokémon around here, other than Santalune forest?" Isobel asks, being as polite as she possibly could.

"Yes, there is Route 22, just to the right of the Poké Mart." The man turns and points towards the blue-roofed building. Beyond it is a dirt road surrounded by tall grass. Then the man stops and thinks. "And I suppose there is Route 4 north, though some of the Gardeners that tend the flowers and hedges there can get a bit annoyed when people search in the flowers. I found some good Pokémon there myself, though they are mostly in the flowers."

"Thank you." Isobel says and she heads past many old buildings and cafés until she spots the path to Route 4. She heads towards it; there are flowers as far as the eye can see of all different colours. Flashy red flowers, stunning yellow flowers, exquisite blue flowers and divine white flowers. The hedges are so cleverly crafted to many shapes of different Pokémon, and expertly trimmed so that they even have tiny details that a normal person could miss on a Pokémon. They are made into mazes as well and are very symmetrical.

There are no gardeners around so Isobel slips into the red flowers to find a new Pokémon. There's a flash of pink but she isn't able to catch a proper glimpse of the creature that ran past. As she pushes the flowers out of the way she hears a very gentle cry and then something strikes her in the stomach and she falls over, groaning and grabbing her stomach. She looks around quickly, trying to find the source of the attack. She spots a face in front of her, a tiny, frail-looking creature clinging on to a flower. It is pale and looks sweet, and Isobel recognizes it as a Flabébé, a Fairy-type Pokémon. Isobel knows quite a bit about it since she used it once or twice in her battle simulators. The battle simulator's producers were very greedy, because to get all of the Pokémon in the simulator you needed to buy expansion packs with Pokédollars, such as the Fairy expansion pack, which included Flabébé and many other Fairy-type Pokémon, and lessons on their strengths and weaknesses.

Isobel very carefully lifts herself off the ground but Flabébé is watching her with a curious expression. She slowly takes Fletchling's Poké ball from her bag and releases it. "Fletchling," she whispers, "use Quick Attack on that Flabébé, and make sure you let up so it doesn't faint."

Fletchling lashes out with its attack, striking the enemy but holding back as it was told. Flabébé doesn't attempt to avoid the attack – not like it had much time to react to the swiftness of the blow – and it fell over while clinging to its crimson flower tightly. Then suddenly it moves and whips up a gust of wind and a light pink dust along with it that blows Fletchling back a fair distance. Though Isobel isn't fazed by the wind, a vine comes from Flabébé's flower and hits her in the stomach again. Despite how fragile and graceful the flower Pokémon looks, it packs a punch.

"Ow..." Isobel grumbles, holding her stomach again. "You're a fighter, huh?"

She withdraws Fletchling and takes out an empty Poké ball. She has three of them left. She throws it but Flabébé swiftly floats out of aim and it misses. Taking another, Isobel throws it and this time it manages to capture it. Rather than rocking three times, the ball instantly clicks, which surprises Isobel – she didn't know that could happen, but it doesn't matter that much, because she has a Flabébé, and it brings a smile to her face. She picks up the Poké ball and makes her way out of the flowers. As she does so, she sees a gardener who is glaring at her.

"Ya messing up the flowers!" he snapped angrily.

"Huh? I didn-" Isobel gazes at the patch of flowers she was in just moments ago and a few of them were flattened. "Oh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

But the gardener doesn't look like he is going to accept that apology. He takes out a Poké ball and sends out a Corphish that snaps its pincers. Isobel realizes this is a good way to test out her Flabébé so she takes out a Poké ball of her own and her own Pokémon comes out.

"Okay, kid, here's the deal. You win and I let you go, no hassle. If I win, you pay me fer the flowers. Fair enough?" The gardener narrows his eyes.

"Okay." Isobel replies hastily. Are all of the gardeners like this? She wonders.

"Flabébé, are you ready? Use Fairy Wind."

Flabébé lowers its flower and a blast of pink wind shoots towards Corphish, blowing it back.

"Use Vice Grip!" The gardener shouts, but Corphish is unable to get close enough to use the attack on Flabébé. Then it digs in its claws in the ground and starts to make its way towards its foe, fighting off the attack.

"Vine Whip, let's go!" Isobel shouts when Corphish is close. Vines extend from Flabébé's flower. Corphish is ordered to use Vice Grip again. The vines clash with the pincers of the ruffian and they fight as though they are using swords, with Corphish's pincers trying to slash the vines off. It succeeds and Flabébé is struck. It falls over, barely holding on to its flower as it does so.

"Flabébé, don't faint. Use Tackle."

Flabébé smacks into Corphish but it doesn't appear to faze it. Before Corphise can counter it with an attack of its own, Flabébé drifts away from it and uses Vine Whip.

Without its trainer's order.

Corphish falls over and tries to scurry back up. Then another Vine Whip hits it in the stomach and it's out for the count. The gardener scowls at it to get up then sighs and withdraws it. Then he glares. "You're still paying!" He snaps angrily.

"I wouldn't break our deal if I were you, I mean, Flabébé will be more than glad to teach you a lesson if you do." Isobel says, though she is nervous hearing his words. The gardener, having no Pokémon left to fight, huffs and turns away, not wanting to risk it. Then Isobel turns to her new Pokémon and raises a brow. "You dodged that Corphish's attack and used Vine Whip and I didn't even tell you to?" She asks.

Flabébé cowers behind the flower, but then Isobel leans down and suddenly pats its head gently, since it looks so delicate. "Don't worry, I think that was impressive. You did really well, good job! Just don't start taking control of the battles we do together, or I won't really be a Pokémon trainer, just someone who keeps you around." Isobel laughs softly. Flabébé gazes at her and it looks very happy with itself, and eagerly nods. Isobel then sends out Fletchling.

"Fletchling, meet Flabébé, your new friend."

Fletchling chirps and hops over to the little creature on the flower and Flabébé reaches out with one of its stubby hands, giving the bird a small tap on the head. Remembering Viola's words, Isobel decides she should do further training with Fletchling and Flabébé.

Fletchling needs less training but it didn't succeed in that battle against Surskit so Isobel decides to train it in agility to improve its speed. As for Flabébé, Isobel isn't quite sure how she should train that one, but she isn't going to let it go untutored – she gets it to battle many Pokémon around the area and it's successful. Isobel learned that due to slowness, Flabébé is better off dealing as much damage as possible rather than dodging. Well, until she invents a strategy. Flabébé can move itself quicker than it usually can by using Fairy Wind consecutively, so it's not as much of a problem anymore. Isobel practices the "special Quick Attack" with Fletchling and teaches Flabébé to master Fairy Wind. Every now and again, a gardener appears but they don't seem to be that bothered. One or two challenge Isobel to a battle, where their Corphish is taken out unusually quickly. There is also a very interesting variety of Pokémon around. Ralts, Skitty, Budew and other things.

After training, Isobel heads back to the city where she takes in the scent of coffee, and follows it to a little café with virtually no people in it (there is an odd-looking man with blond hair and a ponytail sitting at one of the tables and he appears to be staring off into space), with her two Pokémon following closely behind. She decides to get herself a chicken mayo sandwich and then asks if they sell food for Pokémon. According to the woman behind the counter, Pokémon are fine with eating the same food as humans (so that's a "no") most of the time. Isobel gets Fletchling a piece of bread and Flabébé some berries and they eat them quickly and hungrily. Both of them stare at Isobel's sandwich so longingly after they finish their own food so she can't do anything else but pull of bits of bread to feed them more. Then Isobel decides to withdraw her Flabébé and Fletchling, have a coffee and some time to think.

After a few minutes later, the man who appears to be alone stands up and walks over to Isobel. He greets her with a "Hello". Isobel doesn't greet him back in a friendly manner but he doesn't mind. The man waits for her to say something, but she doesn't have anything to say. Then he speaks again. "I know you have lost something."

Isobel glances at him.

"You have got a "lost look" in your eye." He continues.

Isobel says nothing.

"What have you lost?" The man presses. "It's unbearable, you know."

"What do you mean?" Isobel asks, gazing down at the swirling brown liquid in her cup.

"Seeing another person like this...it just...it hurts me. I usually see trainers so joyful, but you don't look happy at all."

Isobel lifts her head up and returns his gaze with a slightly cold and sullen one of her own. "I lost my Chespin. It was stolen from me by a man with a scarf, a suit and sunglasses. Have you seen him?"

The man pauses for a moment and holds his chin, thinking. Then he shook his head gently. "I have not seen such an individual...I'm sorry...I don't think I can do anything."

Isobel lowers her gaze again, expecting the man to leave, but instead from the corner of her eye she sees him put something on the table. "Maybe this could help take a bit of the sadness away from your eyes?"

Isobel looks at the "something". It's an odd device – a glove of some sort – covered in metal plates. Symbols and buttons decorate the bottom of it, all of which glow a bright blue. She turns at the man and questions him with a look. "What's this?" she asks, an inquisitive look replacing the forlorn one. It looks like something that belongs to the future or something from outer space. It's a piece of technology, that's for sure, but she doesn't know what it is, or what it does.

"I think it's very good for catching Pokémon and other things, like learning. You will have to try it some time. Ciao, and good luck finding your Chespin." The man smiles and waves, turning to leave.

"Wait, what's your name?" Isobel asks.

"Oh, uh...Peter."

And that's that.

Isobel stares after him as he leaves, somewhat dumbfounded, then she gets up and leaves her coffee. She picks up the glove (it's heavy) and curious, she puts it on her hand. There's a dark screen on the palm that she didn't realize before, and she touches it, just to feel it, but then it lights up and she nearly jumps. An icon of a Pikachu sits in the middle of the flashy screen, smiling at her. Unsure of what she's supposed to do, Isobel taps at the screen repeatedly but the Pikachu just keeps smiling and staring. Then, big bold words appear on the screen, just above the Pokémon's head: "All clear!" And the device speaks these words as well with a monotone male voice.

Isobel stares quizzically. This device must be good for detecting Pokémon or something. But it's hefty and doesn't feel comfortable on her hand, so she puts it in her bag and leaves the building, heading towards the gym.

When she enters, she sees Viola at the end of the room of trees, stretching and then turning to greet her once again. Isobel takes a deep breath and approaches her. "I want to battle right away." She says almost forcefully, a strategy beginning to form in her mind. Viola crosses her arms over her chest.

"Wow, you want to jump to a fight so quickly? I hope you kept my advice in mind." she says. Isobel nods, "I certainly did."

Then she takes out her first Poké ball, releasing Flabébé onto the battlefield. It would be risky to use Fletchling as Surskit knows Ice Beam. A grin breaks out on Viola's face and she sends out Surskit as predicted. She makes the first move. "Alright then, Surskit, use Bubble."

The pond skater Pokémon shoots large, powerful bubbles at Flabébé.

"Use Fairy Wind to dodge!" Isobel shouts. Flabébé creates a force below itself to leap into the air, floating out of harm's way. As the bubbles pass underneath it, Isobel orders Flabébé to use Vine Whip. Flabébé moves towards Surskit and the vines lash at it, but the enemy is fast and dodges without a sweat. Then a Quick Attack from Surskit strikes Flabébé and knocks it over.

Isobel feels herself getting angry and frustrated at this, but decides it'd be best to try and keep her cool, or else she will make rash decisions and she definitely will lose because of that.

"Alright, Flabébé. Use Fairy Wind, okay? You can do this. Think of the training, the strategies we used." Isobel calls. Flabébé turns its head slightly and gives a nod, then the blustery force blows Surskit up into the air. It watches as its foe squirms to try and find the ground; it looks like it is in a bad position. Flabébé floats upwards and uses vines that grab Surskit, then turns and throws it. The Bug-type hits a tree and scurries back up. It's still up albeit weak.

"Hm..." Viola murmurs. "Use Ice Beam!"

Surskit shoots a light beam towards Flabébé. Isobel orders it to move out of the way and as it does so, the tree behind it is frozen solid. That attack sure doesn't look friendly, so Isobel makes a note not to let it hit any of her Pokémon.

"Flabébé, use Fairy Wind." Isobel says. By using this force, Flabébé blasts Surskit against the tree and then drifts closer. "Vine Whip."

"Ice Beam!" Viola calls. The beam launches at Flabébé and though she had told herself just moments ago that she shouldn't let Ice Beam hit, it does since the flower Pokémon has gotten so close. That attack by itself, a certain Isobel thought, wouldn't have been able to knock Flabébé out. But it doesn't matter, and the reason why is because Flabébé is sitting there confined to a block of ice. Frozen solid.

"Flabébé?" Isobel calls. She hurriedly withdraws it and sighs as her temper nearly controls her, but she manages to keep a clear head for just a little longer.

Then she takes out her second Pokémon, murmuring to it, "Let's do this as quickly as possible". Fletchling chirps in agreement and then takes to the air.

"Now, Fletchling, use your special Quick Attack, right now."

Fletchling launches itself forwards and a very weak Surskit prepares itself to use Ice Beam as Viola orders it do to so. Isobel closes her eyes.

I can't believe I let this happen, she thought. I can't believe I just lost my two Pokémon to Ice Beam...

Then she opens her eyes as Viola doesn't announce any winner at all. Surskit lays there, knocked out clean. Thanks to Fletchling's speed, it took out Surskit before it could even use Ice Beam. Isobel laughs out of relief and Viola withdraws her Pokémon.

"I think that one went well, don't you think?" She asks. "Your Flabébé getting frozen was just bad luck, but Fletchling astonished me! Well, we're not done yet, so no time to celebrate. It's time this battle becomes serious. Let's go, Vivillon!"

Viola sends out her second Pokémon; Vivillon. Isobel swallows as a deeper sense of dread than last time overcomes her then she shrugs it off. If Fletchling defeats Vivillon as swiftly as possible, then...

We'll have to see. Isobel feels nervous, but she remembers that last time, her nervousness contributed to her defeat. It had to. She just didn't fight logically back then. So she breathes slowly then gives Fletchling its first order. "Use Agility, then Peck."

Fletchling learned Agility earlier during its training. It's very useful for outpacing enemies. Fletchling speeds towards Vivillon, moving incredibly fast. Vivillon hasn't got much time to react and even though Viola shouts it an order it is struck by the super-effective Peck attack before it can do anything. It is thrown back quite violently but recovers itself in mid-air, straightening itself out.

"Vivillon, use Energy Ball!" Viola calls. Vivillon responds by creating a sphere of green light, then the sphere grows in size. Then, it throws the sphere towards Fletchling. It hits and Fletchling hits the ground. It gets up on to its feet, looking a bit woozy. Isobel is tempted to go over to Fletchling and send it words of encouragement, but she decides to shout them instead: "Come on, get up! We can do this, you've gotten so far! You're the bird, it's the bug, it's your prey, so you will not lose to it!"

Fletchling feels these words strengthening it and it flaps its wings, becoming a master of the skies for just a moment more as it soars after Vivillon. Viola points. "We're not prey to any kind of bird. Solar Beam!"

"That sounds deadly," Isobel murmurs, "okay, Fletchling. Dodge this attack. Don't let it hit you at any cost. I believe you can do this. I know you can."

Fletchling swoops through the air and Vivillon forms a green ball of energy, which shoots out into a large beam that expands in mass. The attack is so bright that Isobel has to close her eyes. When she opens them again, Fletchling looks relatively unharmed. Any other Fletchling would have probably gone down now; that training has paid off.

"Right. Quick Attack, then use Peck!"

"Dodge it, Vivillon! We're not going to lose!"

Vivillon evades the Quick Attack swiftly but then Fletchling lunges and hits its second attack, Peck. The butterfly flutters down to the ground, and its attempts to remain airborne fail. Viola orders it to get up from the ground but it stays there for a while and suddenly topples over onto its stomach. For a moment there is silence, and Isobel is not sure what's going on. Then Viola withdraws her Pokémon and gives a half-smile. "Vivillon fainted. I've got no more Pokémon left to fight...so, I guess that leaves you the winner. Very impressive."

Isobel grins. "I really did win?" She asks. The feeling of pride swells up inside, like a balloon of happiness. This feeling, the feeling of feeling victorious, the feeling of accomplishment over a challenge, it is certainly going to be addicting for Isobel in the future.

"Yes. I had another card up my sleeve that was going to guarantee my victory, but I didn't have much of a chance to pull it out. I'm sure I could have won, but the outcome of a battle can't be controlled all the time; your Fletchling is a lot stronger than it used to be. And that Agility! Wow." Viola laughs softly. Then she reaches into her pocket and takes out something shiny.

"What's that?" Isobel asks as her bird Pokémon flutters on to her shoulder. She pets it lightly and approaches Viola hesitantly.

"This, I believe, is your first gym badge. Do you know what they are?" Viola tilts her head questioningly.

Isobel gives a nod. "Yes, I think. They're a sign of your victory over a gym leader, right?"

"Indeed they are, and if you collect all of them, you can take on five of the strongest trainers in the region: the Elite Four, and then, finally, the Champion of Kalos!"

Isobel smiles slightly. "Hmm? That sounds interesting."

Viola passes her the badge. She then reaches out a hand and Isobel gazes at it, seemingly confused, then she realizes what she's trying to do. She takes Viola's hand with her own and they shake and Viola wishes the new victor the best of luck as she leaves.

Isobel heals her Pokémon at the center quickly, before complimenting them on how well they did. Flabébé looks a bit disorientated and even angry that it got frozen in that battle, then it tries to go back to the gym to take on Viola again, but Isobel manages to keep it back. "We've already won," she reminds it. Flabébé nods, as disappointed as it looks. Fletchling is proud of itself; it struts back and forth and shows off to nearby Pokémon, much to Isobel's amusement. As a treat for working so hard, she buys the two a lot of food. Fletchling gets a lot of raisin bread, and Flabébé gets lots of sweet berries. Afterwards, they leave Santalune City and past the gardens to their next destination: Lumiose City.


	4. Team Phantasmo

The moment Isobels steps in Lumiose City she is startled by how different it is from what she's used to. A big, bright city with so many people rushing about. Isobel's hometown, Vaniville, is small and she knows everyone there, including a friendly yet tired businesswoman. At exactly five in the morning, this woman would go and travel all the way to Lumiose City on her Rapidash to work. Isobel used to set her alarm ten minutes earlier than five, then peek out of her window to watch the lady with the Rapidash blaze through the gates like some kind of knight ready to fight a dragon called "work". It is very different here in Lumiose City, clearly. Everyone are strangers. The air isn't quite as fresh and clean, but it smells strongly of coffee with different scents mixed in, such as perfume and Gogoat dung. Cabs rumble past very slowly, avoiding people. It is quite late, as Isobel spent the rest of the day training among the flowers of Route 4, battling wild Pokémon and a gardener every now and again with a Corphish.

Isobel tries to stop a few people passing for directions to Professor Sycamore's Pokémon Lab. Many of them are too busy to even notice her, or just want to get on with their lives rather than take a few minutes to see what she wants. Eventually Isobel gives up and decides to stop a cab with a bored-looking man at the wheel, hopping in.

"I want to reach the Pokémon Lab," she says to the driver and he starts the vehicle, beginning to drive towards the aforementioned destination. Relieved that she is in her own space away from a big crowd, Isobel takes off her bag and watches the people scurrying around like Durants outside.

"Are you from Vaniville town?" the driver suddenly asks, his interest piqued.

"Yes, I am. How did you know that?" Isobel watches ahead as the car evades a Gogoat trotting by. Fletchling is perched upon her shoulder with its feathers fluffed up, quivering against her neck uneasily for some reason.

"I have mysterious powers."

Isobel laughs it off and shakes her head. Seeing a magnificent building just up ahead, she leans up to get a better view of it. "Is that...?"

"It certainly is. The famous Pokémon Lab of Kalos. That's where you wanted to go, right?" The man asks with - somehow - doubt in his voice. Isobel raises a brow. As a cab driver, this guy must have taken many people to this laboratory before. It is quite a popular building, isn't it?

"Yes. How much do I have to pay?" Isobel opens her bag and searches for money. The man taps the wheel with his hand, then he reaches down and picks up a Poké ball. He clicks the button in the center, and out comes a Ghost-type Pokémon, Pumpkaboo. "Oh, not much of a big price to pay. I just want your Pokémon."

Isobel pauses.

"Huh? What was that?" She asks, for a moment not exactly able to believe what the man just said. Did he really ask for her Pokémon, or is she just perhaps tired from all the training? Is her nervousness around strangers getting a bit too out of hand; is it making her hear things wrong? But then she sees the Pumpkaboo and knows that he did indeed ask for her Pokémon, and that she is being threatened by it.

"Give me your Pokémon. All of them." The man snaps, whirling around and flashing the most terrifying dark eyes that rip straight through her own eyes, right into her soul.

"W-who...exactly are you? You're not a cab driver, are you?" Isobel asks, stammering uncontrollably, but the man doesn't answer her question. Instead, he gives Pumpkaboo the order to use Astonish. Before the creature can hit Isobel, Fletchling lunges forward, unleashing Peck to take it out quicker than a Ninjask could. The man appears startled by this and Isobel quickly takes her bag and leaves the vehicle with her Pokémon following her, but she is shaken up and surprised that she didn't have a heart attack in there. "Thanks, Fletchling, I probably would have been hurt badly back there if you didn't help out."

But that doesn't appear to deter the man from his trouble-making and he leaves the cab, releasing another Pokémon, a Phantump that hovers while emanating its haunting cry. Isobel glares harshly, but she is terrified, utterly terrified with her heart pulsing wildly, and she really can't believe all of this drama is happening to her; it's absurd. "You aren't having my Pokémon. Who are you? Answer me!"

The crowd of people narrows out as they realize that a battle in the middle of the street is about to unfold, and nobody wants to take any attacks as they watch from afar. It's not much of a battle, though, as the Phantump is taken out swiftly. It's weak to Fletchling's Peck attack, and its Ghost-type attacks don't even seem to faze Isobel's Pokémon that much. The man takes out his third Pokémon, Gastly. Just as Fletchling is about to attack, Gastly uses Sucker Punch and the bird Pokémon takes a lot of damage. It falls to the ground, weak, and Isobel rushes to it and scoops it up into her arms.

"Sorry, Fletchling. Looks like this one is at a much higher level than the other two Pokémon..." Isobel murmurs to herself. She withdraws Fletchling in favour of Flabébé, but then she hears a familiar voice calling. Isobel turns towards the direction of the voice and she spots a friend. It's Scarlet, and she half-runs (quite awkwardly, especially with her bag) towards her with a foxy Pokémon by her side running in quite a similar fashion as its trainer. It's definitely not the same species of Pokémon that Isobel saw Scarlet choose at the beginning of their journey, but it looks very similar. In fact, it looks exactly like that Pokémon, except it is larger and stands on two legs now, and somehow, it seems a lot more mature.

"Braixen, use Flame Charge on that Gastly!" Scarlet yells. The fox-like Pokémon lights up with flames and dashes swiftly towards the shady trainer's Gastly. It strikes it and knocks it out clean, forcing the man to withdraw his Pokémon. He backs away, having no more partners left to fight, but not without leaving them a few chilling words: "You both will regret this. Team Phantasmo will make sure that a deathly punishment comes your way."

When he turns and runs, Scarlet doesn't bother chasing after him. She watches him then turns to Isobel with a slightly puzzled look on her face. "Team Phantasmo?" She asks, her gaze almost expectant, and she presumes that Isobel knows who they are. But Isobel shrugs and shakes her head, clearly anxious and clueless about what is going on.

"Hmm, well, I wouldn't worry about it. We've got our Pokémon to defend ourselves." Scarlet says in hopes of reassuring Isobel and taking away that worried look on her face.

"That Gastly was going to beat my Fletchling." Isobel mumbles, gazing at the floor. She then raises her gaze towards the Pokémon by Scarlet's side, deciding to ask a question before her new rival responds to her last statement. "Is that Fennekin?"

"Oh? She definitely is - and she's a Braixen now. Isn't she so strong?" Scarlet scratches Braixen's ears and it grins proudly. Then she notices the wistful look attached to the eyes of her friend, an almost jealous, sad, distant look.

"So, how's Chespin? Gwaine's Froakie hasn't evolved yet, but that's because he's got a few other Pokémon he's been training lately." Scarlet takes out a little bag of Pokémon treats from her bag and gives Braixen one. It's some kind of crunchy biscuit and by the looks of Braixen's expression after eating it, it's delicious. Isobel turns her head away, watching the passing people as the mentioning of Chespin stings her, but she wants to avoid hassle, so she lies. "It's fine."

"Really? That's good. Well, come on, let's head to the lab. I've been waiting for you, and we've got a special present for you." Scarlet nods towards the grand building where she left, and they quickly enter it. Isobel doesn't get much of a chance to admire everything there because they went straight for the elevator up to the third floor to a very fancy-looking room with a desk where Sycamore sits on a chair, an unusual device in his hand. He seems occupied with it for a moment then he looks up and a bright smile graces his face before he stands right up. "Isobel! It's very nice to see you again! How have you been keeping? How is Chespin?"

"Fine." Isobel replies, surprised at how eager the professor is. It's not as if it's been a whole week since she saw him last, so why does he look so cheerful?

"Well, let's see her, then! I want to know how much she has grown since the last time I saw her." Sycamore smiles. Isobel freezes and for a moment she can almost feel her heart just falling out of place. She lowers her head and is unable to speak, and then she forces it out. Forces the words out. The tragic news. The fact she is unreliable at keeping her own Pokémon for more than a day. "Chespin was stolen from me."

She isn't able to look up at the professor's expression after saying that, and she closes her eyes as the pain expands inside of her. She says nothing more. Scarlet speaks before Sycamore does. "You lied to me?"

"I didn't want any trouble...I don't want anyone to worry. I'm sorry." Isobel tears up, and even though her eyes are closed they seep out anyway. Scarlet holds her shoulders and the light green eyes flutter open to meet the fierce, darker ones higher up.

"Isobel, did that man back there steal your Pokémon?" She asks.

"No, he didn't. A man with sunglasses and a scarf did." Isobel replies. Scarlet reminds her of Jade. The resemblance is very uncanny now that she thinks about it. Professor Sycamore remains silent as he looks more thoughtful than anything else. He furrows his brows and rubs the back of his neck.

"Isobel, I'd like you to have another Pokémon. These ones are from Kanto." He suddenly says, his voice lower, quieter and less enthusiastic than before. Isobel reads this as a tone that lets her know of his disappointment and she shakes, releasing Scarlet's gentle grip on her shoulders. "I don't want it. Please, these Pokémon are rare and important, I don't want them to go to me. They will just be lost like Chespin."

"Isobel..." The professor begins, ready to argue, but Isobel moves away from them both, looking fierce, a ruthless glow in her eyes which were timid and scared just moments ago. "I want to catch my own Pokémon. Keep all of the ones you have for other new trainers that are dependable when it comes to looking after them, and don't let them lose their Pokémon. I'm not going to replace my starter with another. I'm going to find Nutty and...and...I'm going to hurt the people who took her!"

With that, Isobel escapes the lab, but Scarlet follows after her. Isobel tries to lose her for a little while as she moves through the crowd quickly, but her friend grasps her arm and halts her. "Isobel," she says breathlessly, "I know you want to go but I need to tell you something very important."

"What is it?" Isobel replies, turning her head slightly, though she refuses to look at Scarlet.

"I don't think you should go after whoever stole your Chespin."

These words stun Isobel in place. "What?"

"Don't go after the person, or the people that took Chespin away from you. I know it's precious to you, but...if you do it, then you'll endanger yourself. Please, let me try..."

Isobel pulls away from Scarlet and shoots her a look that is a mixture of anger and confusion and for the longest while she feels betrayed. She then continues on her way. This time, Scarlet doesn't follow her as Isobel rushes through the crowd and soon spots the familiar red roof of a Pokémon Center. Naturally, Isobel enters it to escape the loud city and it feels much more relaxed there. A light, lemony fragrance greets her nose and she favours that smell over the stench of Gogoat dung. The place is quiet and few people sit at tables, chatting in hushed voices, as if they are in a library, and Isobel locates a lone table near the Poké Mart at the back of the center, where she sits to take a moment to calm herself. I swear I was going to panic in that crowd.

Isobel takes out her two occupied Poké balls simply to check on them. Making sure that her Pokémon are still with her has become a habit ever since she lost her partner. Even so, there's something that she doesn't quite have since...then. Chespin and her had a bond that Isobel is not quite sure she can form with her new Pokémon, even though the Grass-type and her hadn't been together for that long.

Feeling sleepy, Isobel leans her head back and closes her eyes as she places her Poké balls in her bag. She finds herself beginning to drift off when she hears a voice.

"Isobel?"

Slowly, Isobel stirs and opens her eyes, feeling exhausted as she gave herself a chance to rest just moments ago. She sees that Gwaine is there with a big grin plastered to his face; he doesn't look quite as tired as his fellow trainer. "Hey, sleepyhead, what's up?"

"Hi, Gwaine." Isobel sighs and rubs her eyes.

Gwaine places himself on the chair besides Isobel and pulls off his bag. He takes a thermal flask from it and shakes it a couple of times. "Sorry about waking you up there. Want some of this? It's hot chocolate."

Isobel smiles lightly and nods at the unexpected kindness, and Gwaine takes out a plastic cup and pours some of the liquid into it. Isobel takes a sip and the chocolate tastes delicious. "Thank you. How is Froakie? I heard you have more Pokémon as well..."

Gwaine nods. "I sure do! Let me show you all of them." He grabs a few Poké balls - four of them to be exact - and takes his Pokémon out. He has a Froakie, Pikachu, Pidgey and a Furfrou, all of which look trained to become quite fit and strong. Of course, it doesn't look like any of them are at the level that Scarlet's Braixen is at. He then withdraws his team and gives her a proud smirk which Isobel returns with a "Good job".

"So, have you beaten the Santalune gym leader?" Gwaine asks, leaning back casually and closing his eyes.

"I have," Isobel replies, "and she's very strong, isn't she?"

"Yeah, you're right...she's a tough cookie...it took a while for me to beat her. And man, that Vivillon ain't exactly a piece of cake..." Gwaine chuckles lightly then suddenly slings his bag over his shoulder, collecting his flask and when Isobel finishes the hot chocolate, he takes that as well. "So, I'm going now. The next gym is all the way over in Cyllage City. You've got a map, right? So you can check it?"

Isobel nods.

"Just making sure." Gwaine gives her his goodbye smile and waves, leaving the center. Hmm, Isobel thinks to herself while gazing out of the window into darkness, I'm not sure why he'd want to go at this time...

But, it doesn't concern her that much, so she watches the white wall of the Pokémon Center for at least an hour before she finds herself unable to keep her eyes open.

And then she drifts off slowly, welcoming sleep's comforting arms...

Suddenly, her eyes flutter open and she feels a soft, cushiony ground below her. She stirs, and the grass is very soft, very welcoming. The back of her neck is aching lightly. Isobel slowly forces herself up from her green blanket and gazes around as she is staring across a moonlit field. She focuses her gaze on a breath-taking sight of the moon. Stars glimmer and twinkle with unlimited elegance, dancing in the cosmos. She begins to walk across the field, but the other side of the field doesn't come closer, as the tree she can see far ahead isn't growing bigger at all. She tries to run, but she's still not going anywhere, so she pauses and looks around. At that moment, she spots a tiny silhouette of a Pokémon, and it calls to her.

 _Is that...? Could it be?_

"Nutty!" Isobel cries. She leans down and spreads her arms out, and Nutty squeaks happily, running closer to accept the embrace. However, before it reaches her, the ground splits open so fast that Isobel hasn't got a chance to react in a manner that would benefit her in this situation. Nutty tries to run around the part where the ground is split, but the ground tears up further, creating a long line, and the Chespin is unable to reach Isobel.

"Nutty! Don't worry! I'll be there for you; I'll save you! No matter what it takes, no matter what I do, I will make sure that you're not hurt. Please. Just hold on for a little longer, okay?!" Isobel looks back and forth at the chasm that is increasing in size, that is becoming more and more deadly. It's definitely impossible to jump across. As she even contemplates it, the ground shakes violently. The world grows a sickening bright red, and she looks at the moon once again, which has turned a foreboding crimson. Dread hits her heart and she turns towards Nutty, which is standing there, panicking, helpless. She must save her.

The ground rumbles further until Isobel is thrown violently in the air. Before she hits the ground, the unfamiliar cry - screaming - of a Pokémon fills her ears, and a large shape rockets out of the chasm and flies into the air, chunks of rock flying across the place. One of the rocks scrape against Isobel's arm, but she's unharmed. A massive monster, a beast she has never seen before in her entire life, glowers down at her from the sky. The sky that is now void of stars, as they have all been frightened off. A single sentence repeats itself through Isobel's mind, over and over and over:

 _It came from Hell._

 _It came from Hell._

 _It came from Hell._


	5. You're Gonna Go Far, Skiddo

Isobel's eyes open in a snap and her body feels shaky, weak and simply gelatinous. She has forgotten her dream for some reason, but she knows that it was a nightmare. She takes several gulps of air and looks around at the almost empty Pokémon Center (Nurse Joy is standing there, staring off with her smile still plastered to her face – it's actually quite a chilling thing to see after a nightmare). She glances at the sky – it's a dark, greyish blue, and as she moves, she feels an aching in the back of her neck from leaning against the chair. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, still feeling a bit dreary, Isobel takes a peep at the clock across the room on the wall. It's 6 AM and she wonders why nobody bothered waking her up. She checks on her Pokémon to see if they are fine, goes to buy some Poké balls and Potions from the Poké Mart and then finally leaves the center.

As Isobel walks across the cobblestones she is pleased to see that there aren't as many people around. Of course, there are early birds (mostly older adults with strict daily routines), but she has a lot more freedom to walk than she did last night. Slipping out the map from her bag, she scans it quickly, and sees that Lumiose City has several gates which lead to different routes. The gate that leads to route 5 (or Versant Road, as the map calls it) seems to be the best option for getting to Cyllage City. First, though, Isobel visits a café to feed herself and her Pokémon. The food is a lot more delicious than what she expected, albeit a lot more pricey than what she expected as well. She then heads towards the gate for route 5 and walks quickly through it to a road. There aren't many trainers about, which is quite a relief.

As Isobel hears the grass rustling, she takes out Fletchling and it yawns at her and flutters onto her shoulder. She moves with caution along the road as a two-headed Pokémon, Doduo, sprints past her. To reach some steps, Isobel sees that she will have to trudge through some grass and as she does so she sees two golden horns poke out of the grass. She backs away a little and Fletchling hops down onto her arm as a Pokémon leaps towards her. It has a golden nose to match its horns and a light green mane of leaves, a beige-coloured body and pink hooves. Isobel swears she can see it sparkle but perhaps it's because she is still tired. In any case, she wants this Pokémon to join her; it's a Skiddo, but it doesn't look like a normal Skiddo. Skiddos don't have gold horns, do they?

Isobel orders Fletchling to use Quick Attack, and it obeys, diving and striking Skiddo. The goat-like Pokémon bleats then rears up, striking at Fletchling with its horns, but it misses by a few inches. As the bird Pokémon goes to make its next move, the Skiddo suddenly perks up, looks left and right then turns, bounding away. Isobel runs after it with Fletchling following her closely but the Skiddo seems to vanish. The girl sighs and takes off her glasses to rub her tired eyes before putting them on again. "Well, that was weird, wasn't it, Fletchling?"

Fletchling wholeheartedly agrees with a chirp.

Isobel searches for more Pokémon and finds a Doduo, so she gets Fletchling to fight it. The battle was a pain, but Fletchling emerged victorious and it looks stronger already. She uses Flabébé to fight a wild Pancham and it seems to be so successful in training the flower Pokémon that she uses it against all of the Panchams she finds in the grass. The only problem with Panchams is that they have heated tempers and can be quite tricky to hit sometimes. They're endearing, expressive and honestly, Isobel wants one, but when she thinks of capturing a Pokémon, her mind drifts back to that Skiddo. She probably won't get another opportunity to fight the golden-horned Skiddo, but she can certainly catch an ordinary one in the grass. Unfortunately, she isn't having any luck with finding them; they seem to blend well in their natural environment. She thinks of using berries as bait to lure one out of the grass to make it easier to see and catch it, but there aren't really any berries around, so that idea is disposed of quickly.

Soon enough, after a lot of training, the sun is sitting comfortably among the clouds. Young trainers are already out catching Pokémon and battling with each other. Isobel avoids most of them, but she occasionally locks eyes with an energetic youngster and of course, she has to battle them. Most of them are no match for her, some are a bit more difficult to defeat, and every now and again there is a tough challenge of a trainer. Near the end of the road and next to a thicket of thorns, a woman in a neat black suit stands. She gazes around uneasily and Isobel approaches her.

"Hello," Isobel says.

"Oh, hello there dear. Have you seen an oddly-coloured Skiddo wandering here?" The woman asks hurriedly. Isobel doesn't like the somewhat harsh tone of this lady's voice, so she shakes her head. It might be a trainer that owns the Skiddo, but she's not so sure.

"You see, I need to be somewhere at this moment, and my darling Skiddo, well, he's been misbehaving lately...oh, how I wish he would just be good." The woman sighs and shakes her head. Isobel realizes that she is just being overly cautious.

"Well..." Isobel begins.

"Yes?" the lady turns her gaze on Isobel and her dark eyes look sorrowful.

"I saw it near the gate near Lumiose City about an hour ago. I didn't know it had a trainer so I was going to catch it, but then it ran off." Isobel rubs the back of her head sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Oh, that's completely fine, darling! As long as I know that Skiddo was here at least once...I'm so happy." The woman gives her a big smile and ruffles Isobel's hair, much to her annoyance. Then she trots down the path with her high heels restraining her from running. Isobel exhales then moves past the thicket where the woman was once standing by, to see buildings surrounded by an ivy-coated wall. There is an entrance, however, so out of mostly curiosity, Isobel goes in. According to her map, it's Camphrier Town. There is an old castle here as well, but Isobel goes to the Pokémon Center to heal her Pokémon. Once they are fully healed, she buys some food from the Poké Mart, though her Pokémon aren't that hungry for some reason, so she keeps berries and sandwiches and even some Pokémon treats in her bag for later. While passing some Pokédollars to the clerk, a large, sweating man rushes into the center.

"Help!" he calls, waving to catch the attention of all the trainers. He clearly appears to be panicking. "Shady people are in Shabboneau Castle, and they're trying to steal valuable items from it!"

Isobel puts everything she has bought into her bag and leaves the Pokémon Center, instantly suspecting Team Phantasmo to be behind the trouble going on in the castle. She is definitely frightened, and yet doesn't want such injustice to go on. Six other young trainers also march towards the castle, crossing the drawbridge and entering the grand building. The panicking man follows them; he doesn't appear to have any Pokémon of his own. "They're upstairs!" He cried breathlessly. Isobel bolts up the steep, stony steps and takes Fletchling out of its Poké ball, ready to fight the people that dare steal these irreplaceable historical items.

The people stealing items look completely normal; they have casual clothes, and have a tourist look about them, but it's not fooling anyone. There's about three of them. They take out Poké balls and enter battles with the younger trainers. Isobel orders Fletchling to battle one of the thieves, but then she suddenly catches sight of a man rushing past them. He turns himself slightly to take a glance at Isobel and she recognizes him instantly; it's Peter from the café in Santalune City.

"You?!" Isobel cries, shock overcoming her. Is he really one of these wrongdoers?

"I'm sorry!" Peter calls as he flies down the stairs. "I'm so sorry!"

Isobel turns and pursues him out of the castle, but, he is tall and he runs very fast. He disappears into route 5 and Isobel eventually gives up running after him, turning around and heading back to the castle. The three thieves are suddenly running towards her and she barely avoids them as she watches them go towards route 5 as well. The younger trainers follow them but Isobel doesn't join them - she's done what she had to, which was getting them out, and she doesn't want anything more to do with them. She's not exactly a knight in shining armour, anyway...all she can do right now is wonder. Who is Peter?

The big man walks out of the castle and he looks relieved. He smiles at Isobel and the Fletchling on her shoulder. "Thank you so much for helping our castle! See, nobody inhabits it anymore, but we appreciate tourists. We let those people in to explore the castle freely, but...they started to steal everything! The vases, the pictures...and when I told them to stop, they threatened me! I managed to sneak out of the castle to get your help. I am ever grateful."

Isobel shakes her head. "I wouldn't let anyone but trusted people in if I were you. Keep the drawbridge up whenever you can; keep it safe. It's a part of history and it must stay that way."

The man is obviously very reluctant to take advice from a lecturing child, but he nods anyway. Isobel then proceeds to leave Camphrier Town to go onto route 7, also known as Rivière Walk. Route 6 is connected to route 7, and it leads to Parfum Palace. According to information on her map, the palace a "fun day out for the family", and that you have to pay to enter, so she decides to cross that off the list of places to visit for now. However, there is a lot of tall grass there and perhaps some interesting Pokémon, so she wanders onto the route leading to the palace, a path lined with trees.

Isobel slips past two trees and manages to get down a steep part, but stumbles at the last step, clumsily falling over into the tall grass. It's not just tall, it's very tall. Taller than her. She isn't going to get much luck with the Pokémon here now that she has just scared them off by being loud. Despite her thorough searching, there is absolutely no Pokémon to be found. Then she lets Fletchling scour the area instead, and it eventually spots one. With loud chirps, the bird Pokémon locates Isobel and flaps its wings, then leads her towards it. Silently snaking through the dense foliage, Isobel spots a flash of light brown. Something butts her in the stomach and she grumbles, "Come on...that's Flabébé's job," she groans and falls over.

The Pokémon that knocked Isobel over eyes her. When she manages to look up at it she realizes it is the oddly-coloured Skiddo she found on route 5 and gasps, managing to get her words out despite being hit in the stomach just a moment ago. "Oh, it's you! Your trainer is looking for you."

Skiddo tilts its head to one side, staring at her. It appears to be confused by her words and doesn't quite understand her. It turns and promptly trots off, with Isobel quickly getting up and following it. "Come on, come back! Why do you want to keep running away all the time?"

To make sure she keeps track of the Skiddo, she sends Fletchling after it. The Skiddo prances through the grass, but Isobel stops as she comes up with an idea. "Fletchling!" She calls. The Pokémon tweets and flies over to her. "Look, I want you to keep following that Skiddo. I'm going to get its trainer."

Isobel runs through Camphrier Town. Just before she reaches route 5, she sees a very exhausted lady, the same lady who owns the Skiddo. The woman is looking through the grass. She crouches, then stands up and faces Isobel as if already knowing she is there.

"Hello! I found your Pokémon!" Isobel calls, hastily grabbing the woman's arm. Without realizing her own actions, she drags her off to route 6, trying not to trip over the tall grass, and towards the trees. A tourist watches them from a distance, wondering what's going on.

"Oh goodness," the lady cries as she notices the steep ground, "I can't go down here!"

"Your Pokémon is down here. Fletchling!" Isobel shouts into the sky. She hears a distant reply, then her bird flies over, chirruping and swooping off among the grass. Isobel and the woman follow it until they see Skiddo up ahead. It curls up on a patch of grass. When it slowly leans its head up and spots the two humans, it springs to its feet and turns to go. Before it can, the woman takes out a Poké ball from a belt on her suit and throws it, sending out a fearsome little blue Pokémon.

"Bagon, use Ember." The woman says, her voice suddenly switching to a dark, low growl. Confused, Isobel moves but a harsh hand grabs her arm and she feels cold, almost dead fingers dig into her skin. The girl yelps and tries to pull away but this lady has such unnatural strength.

"Let me go! If it's your Pokémon, why are you attacking it?!" Isobel shouts. Fletchling flutters down and jabs the woman's arm with its beak, causing her to let go of the girl's arm in pain.

"Stupid bird!" The lady snarls, swiping her hand at it as if it is a fly.

"Knock it off!" Isobel yells, withdrawing Fletchling. Then she gazes over at Skiddo, who has danced around the Ember attack with ease. Then it quickly trots off. Not willing to let this lady get Skiddo, Isobel follows it to a wall of trees - a dead end - where the Skiddo suddenly lays down. Isobel leans down and tries to pick it up but it doesn't budge and bleats in her face. As the Bagon approaches with its trainer, Isobel takes out the Poké ball containing Flabébé.

"Flabébé..." Isobel begins, ready to give her Pokémon an order, but then she hears a beeping. The source of the beeping is in her bag. She opens it and the odd glove-like device's screen is flashing purple, then black, then purple, then black again.

What is this?

Isobel pulls the device out. The words "Shadow Pokémon detected!" show up on the screen in large white text, with a monotone female voice repeating these exact words: "Shadow Pokémon detected! Shadow Pokémon detected!"

"What's a shadow Pokémon?" Isobel asks, fear and anxiety suddenly clouding her heart. She looks up towards the woman, who has a stunned expression on her face.

"You...where did you get that, child? You shouldn't be having that! Stop playing with toys that aren't yours!" the lady snarls, ordering Bagon to attack. This Bagon lunges and snaps its jaws with such savagery that it simply can't be a Pokémon...can it? The aggression is unrealistic. Isobel's Flabébé holds it off with Fairy Wind as Isobel begs the device for instructions. Then she gets an idea. She slips it on to her hand; it's heavy, it holds her arm down, and her sweaty palms make things worse, but it responds. It doesn't give her the answers she needs, though.

"Pokémon Trainer, please take out a Poké ball. Please place the Poké ball on the palm of the device." Isobel rummages through her bag for a spare Poké ball and does what she is told. It's hard to hold it since the glove is heavy, but it works.

"Pokémon Trainer, there is a shadow Pokémon nearby. Its species is detected as "Bagon". Please capture it."

Isobel glances up at the Bagon. It behaves differently; it's certainly very aggressive for a Pokémon, but it doesn't look like something called a "shadow Pokémon". If it is such a thing, wouldn't it look like one? It seems, well, too ordinary in appearance.

"Flabébé, use Vine Whip." Isobel says, trying to keep calm although there are many questions rushing through her head, and her heart is beating unnaturally fast. Why am I always in danger? What is this creature? What are shadow Pokémon? Why is this happening to me?

As Isobel goes to give Flabébé an order, Bagon bursts through the Fairy Wind and clamps its jaws around the little flower Pokémon. It throws it to one side, rendering it weak instantly. Isobel panics. "Flabébé!" She cries. She withdraws Flabébé and sends out Fletchling instead.

"Fletchling, use Agility, then use Peck," Isobel calls, "and whatever you do, don't let your enemy hurt you!"

Fletchling responds by moving like a fired bullet towards Bagon, ready to launch its attack. Even with its speed, the Bagon rears up and hits it with an attack that Isobel doesn't see. She hears a cruel laugh from the woman. "It doesn't matter how much you try, I've got a powerful Pokémon that outclasses all of yours in every single way!"

"And I think I know why." Isobel replies glumly, her hands shaky as she withdraws the now-unconscious Fletchling. She has no more Pokémon that are strong enough to fight.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. If you move out of my way and let me have Skiddo, I will not hurt you - promise." The woman approaches, another Poké ball in her hand, an empty one that Isobel will not let Skiddo be in.

"No." The girl says, standing her ground. "I'm not letting this innocent Pokémon go to a horrible person like you."

Skiddo leans its head to one side and stares up at Isobel. It clambers to its feet and lopes in front of her protectively.

"Oh?" The woman chuckles, her voice switching to a tone. "Oh, isn't this sweet? You want to save your little friend, Skiddo? Well, then we'll just knock you out clean and tear her to little pieces, won't we, darling?"

Bagon launches itself towards Skiddo. Even though it didn't have much trouble handling the two Pokémon belonging to Isobel, this new enemy thrusts its horns at it. Bagon's jaws snap closed around the horns, then it is lifted from the ground and is shaken about. Skiddo tosses it among the tall grass, where a Sentret is startled. The Sentret dashes away, squeaking in fear.

"...Please capture it. Please capture it." The device continues, droning on as if it is malfunctioning. It really sears through Isobel's concentration. She slowly raises her right hand with the device on it, with the Poké ball in her hand. Then she throws it at Bagon without thinking or aiming. Bagon is encapsulated within it, which aggravates the woman. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" She snaps, striding over to the Poké ball. Then a vine snaps at her feet like a rubber band and she jumps back. Skiddo steps towards her and glares angrily, vines extending from its leafy mane. When she hears the clicking sound, the woman gives up on her Pokémon instantly and turns, making a run for it. Skiddo chases after her, catches up and butts the back of her leg, making her trip, then she scrambles up and runs again. The goat Pokémon leaves her to it as it changes direction and heads towards Isobel.

Isobel picks up the Poké ball containing Bagon, puzzled.

"Congratulations! You have caught a Shadow Pokémon." The device says.


	6. Bagon Banzai

Isobel gives a huff as she stops there, on route 8, a rocky cliff. She looks over at the water; a glistening land of sapphires, then heads down to Ambrette Town. There's a good atmosphere about this place. It's almost nostalgic, though she isn't sure why she feels so fondly about it. Back at route 6, she technically stole that Bagon away from its trainer. But that was for a good cause. If you do bad things for a great purpose, it's not actually bad, is it?

Isobel still hasn't opened the Poké ball to look at Bagon. Every time she considers it, she feels too nervous and ends up keeping it confined. Even so, she somehow, even when unable to see it, feels that Bagon in its ball has lightened up from the first time it saw her, even if it's just by a little.

As for Skiddo, well...after that event, Isobel finally figured out that Skiddo is a wild Pokémon. Though she hasn't caught it, Skiddo has been following her around lately. It's still unsure of it should go with her, and has made that obvious numerous times, but it does show a lot of interest in the way she battles. Sometimes it likes to involve itself in her training. Sometimes it battles other wild Pokémon for her. While it's a bit of a nuisance at times, Isobel can't deny it; Skiddo is one tough cookie.

Ambrette Town has quite a few notable places, according to the map. The first thing is the Ambrette Aquarium, and the Fossil Lab, and the gate leading to route 9, which leads to Glittering Cave. Isobel decides to visit the aquarium first, which is even more impressive than she expected. The amount of Water-type Pokémon in the world is phenomenal, and there are still many more species out there, in the deep blue sea, that aren't even known by anyone. Starmie, Magikarp, Horsea, Binacle, Corsola, Carvanha and Sharpedo are Isobel's favourites, but the best Pokémon by far is the graceful Goldeen that wriggles along in the water with its dress-like fins. It reminds her of when she was on the bridge at Aquacorde.

After exploring the aquarium and discovering Pokémon she never knew existed, Isobel turns her focus on the Fossil Lab. When she enters, she sees that the laboratory is actually quite small (smaller than she thought) and there is only a couple of scientists observing dark brown stones with strange patterns in them. Isobel avoids their attention as she analyzes a stone with a spiral lump jutting out of it. She touches it with her hand; it's cool, and damp, with a rough texture. Is this a fossil?

Isobel closes her eyes. With her hand upon the object, she can almost, almost visualize the creature that this fossil - this shell - belongs to. Then she removes her hand and takes a glance at her hand, with small droplets of water on the fingertips.

"Excuse me!"

Isobel's attention is pulled towards the voice. One of the scientists has noticed her, a male with mousy brown hair and curious, hazy eyes. He peers at her behind glasses, delighted to know that someone is taking an interest in fossils.

"Hi." Isobel says, turning towards him while wiping her hand on her jeans to get rid of the water. "This is the Fossil Lab, isn't it?"

"Indeed it is!" the man cries, dropping his clipboard on the floor by accident as he nearly jumps from excitement. He leans over to pick it up, but he is quite aged and struggles. Isobel picks it up for him as she catches a glimpse of a few sketches of odd Pokémon on it and he thanks her.

"So, what exactly does this place do? Just study fossils?" Isobel asks, sliding her hands into the pockets of her jeans as she gazes around, green eyes filled with wonder.

"Not only that, my dear, the Fossil Lab strives to bring back all of the once-extinct ancient Pokémon!" The scientist says eagerly.

"Have you got any of them here?" Isobel turns her attention to him once again.

"Oh indeed! Some of the fossils, we are still working on. But, we have a few revived Pokémon. We'll even give you a freebie, as long as you get your friends to learn about ancient Pokémon. Oh, Jessica?"

A woman turns around. "Yes?"

"Could you bring a fossil Pokémon? Any, please."

The woman scoots off towards a door and a few seconds later she returns carrying a Pokémon in her arms. It's asleep. It's a small, blue Pokémon with a shell and a few appendages that squirm as it appears to be having a dream. Upon seeing it, Isobel can't help but think of it as one of the cutest things she has ever seen. "What is this Pokémon called?"

"That is known as an Omanyte! It is the first ever Pokémon species we have brought back; many of these fossils, the Helix fossil, have been found in Glittering Cave. We're running short of fossils to work on, though..."

"What about those fossils on the shelves?" Isobel asks, tilting her head slightly.

The man shakes his head. "Those are on for display."

"Well...I could get you fossils." Isobel says.

"Oh, you don't need to go through all of that bother! You appear to be on a journey. Are you not a new Pokémon Trainer?"

Isobel shrugs. "I was planning to go there anyway, so it's not a problem. Promise."

A big grin breaks out on the paleontologist's face. "It's much appreciated! Thanks much!"

And so Isobel heads towards Glittering Cave. There's a problem, however. There is a path that leads to the cave, and due to the terrain, it's impossible to cross without getting hurt. Isobel stands there for a while and wonders what to do. Well, the scientist didn't tell her about this. What's going to happen now?

As if answering her question, the ground rumbles gently; vibrates. Something is drawing closer.

Stamp.

Stamp.

Stamp.

Isobel slowly backs away when she spots a grey, plated beast of a Pokémon that lumbers over the rough terrain with ease. It doesn't seem bothered whatsoever by the sharp rocks jutting out from the ground. In fact, it plows right through like a lawn mower chopping up grass. This thing is a machine (not literally) and Isobel backs away into a gate, but the creature simply stops and eyes her curiously on the softer ground. Isobel swallows and eventually decides to approach it, moving closer, slowly. The Pokémon isn't bothered at all. Then she reaches a hand and places it on its head.

"I see you've met Rhyhorn." A man mumbles behind the girl. She jumps and whirls around to see him. He's a man with short dark hair and looks stoic. Isobel nods hesitantly.

The man pats the Rhyhorn's head and sighs, speaking more to himself than anyone else as he stares down at the Pokémon. "She doesn't bite. She's a gentle giant. We use 'er to cross the rocks and reach Glittering Cave. Impossible to get there any other way."

"Um..." Isobel begins.

"Yes? What is it, lass?" The man grumbles, rubbing his stubbly chin in thought. Rhyhorn nudges him gently, its horn looking sharp enough to make Isobel nervous.

"Could I use it?"

"Yeah," the man nods, "that's what she's 'ere for after all. You don't need to guide her anywhere. She's been doing this her whole life. It's second nature for her, so she can take you to Glittering Cave and back here."

"Okay. Great, thanks." Isobel smiles but the man gives her a frown which makes her promptly change her expression to a more solemn one. She stares at Rhyhorn expectantly and then she turns her eyes back on the man and an awkward silence begins to unravel. Deciding to not let this get any more awkward than it is, Isobel nervously walks towards the rocky creature and struggles to climb on to it. The man watches her for a moment and he chuckles very lightly before helping her get on Rhyhorn. Isobel finds it slightly uncomfortable sitting on Rhyhorn and begins to wonder why her mother would ever want to participate in a race on these things. Wouldn't it be easier to, say, use a Rapidash? She can't help but think to herself, Well I guess Rapidash run too fast, but...

Isobel's thoughts are interrupted by a loud thumping and she realizes that Rhyhorn is moving. It treads carefully yet loudly, retracing the path that it went on. The rocks underneath it, already trampled, crunches like glass. When they reach a terrain that isn't rough and instead smoothed out, Rhyhorn halts and Isobel takes the moment to observe her surroundings. The opening of a cave lies against the cliff up ahead. She thanks Rhyhorn gratefully, jumps off the beast and heads towards the opening. It is quite dark, but in the distance of the cave as Isobel peers in to it, a faint glow emanates from...crystals? She isn't quite sure. Releasing Fletchling from its Poké ball just in case there are dangers in the cave, Isobel wanders in. The cave's ground is also quite smooth and her footsteps echo. It feels like a concrete ground, actually; like in a car park. The source of the glowing is actually luminous moss and Fletchling flutters down nearby, staring at it in fascination.

"Strange, huh?" Isobel asks, examining the stuff. "Come on, Fletchling. Let's find some fossils." She decides to let Flabébé join in on the fun, too, as she releases it from its Poké ball. The flower Pokémon hovers around the cave, looking fascinated by its surroundings, then quickly races after her trainer as she realizes that she is heading deeper into the place.

Isobel pauses as she notices a darker area, where luminous moss doesn't appear to be growing. At this point she decides to slow down but she steps on something soft. Whatever soft thing is below her lets out an angry growl. Her leg shoots up instantly and she squints through the shadows. A shape moves, and before she can move a large mouth of a Pokémon flashes towards her. She hears Fletchling's cry - more like a piercing shriek - and the unknown Pokémon scurries away. "Wha...?"

While Fletchling is in hot pursuit of the shape, Isobel follows and sees the Pokémon it is chasing. It is grey and yellow, and has a huge, gaping maw on the back of its head as it leaves the cave. The girl realizes something; Fletchling saved her life from those jaws. The tiny bird flutters back and she holds out her arm. It lands on her hand and using her other hand, rubs her friend's head. "Thanks, Fletchling." she smiles.

They return to the cave and Flabébé looks relatively clueless and slightly stunned. "Alright, Flabébé," Isobel says, leaning down to scoop the flower Pokémon up in her arms, "let's stick together...and watch our step while we're at it."

The cave is narrow, but not for long. She finds a wider part of the cave that resembles a room. It must be man-made. Thanks to many, precious-looking glowing crystals, the area is lit up. Some parts of the walls are caved in with large holes. Rocks line the floor near the walls. Isobel figures that this is where most of the fossils are taken from.

Smash!

Isobel whips her head around towards the noise and she spots Flabébé. Beneath it, pieces of rock lay. She holds up something with vines and looks at her trainer expectantly. "Huh," Isobel murmurs, taking a closer look. "Oh, that's...a fossil! How did you get it? You smart girl."

Flabébé gushes.

Isobel puts the fossil in her bag. It feels damp, just like that fossil she saw in the lab. Unfortunately, it's pretty heavy and weighs her bag down a bit. Something tells her she wont be able to get at many of these things as she'd like. But, after a long, whole hour of pacing around the room and having not much luck at all while searching, she realizes that she might not even get many of them anyway. Fletchling doesn't find any, either. Flabébé finds two more fossils; a dangerous-looking one and another that resembles a root. "I'll have to get you a part-time job at the lab." She chuckles.

At this point, her bag is very heavy, so she decides to carry it back. She withdraws Fletchling and Flabébé so they can have a rest, then leaves the cave, staying careful so that she doesn't end up stepping on some unsuspecting Pokémon like she did before. Rhyhorn is waiting, obviously very dedicated to her job. Isobel has a bit of trouble trying to get the bag on the Pokémon's back but she manages it. Rhyhorn isn't bothered by the extra weight and lugs itself along the path once again. Afterwards, Isobel gives it a bit of food that Flabébé had left over earlier as a thank-you gift and Rhyhorn gobbles it down gratefully. And with that, the trainer heads back to the lab.

When she arrives, she isn't able to spot that male scientist anywhere, until he appears from the doorway and calls her. She turns around, opens her bag and shows him the fossils she found in Glittering Cave. "What fossils are they?" She asks.

The scientist gasps and stares in awe. "Good job! Let's see. You have a helix fossil, jaw fossil and a root fossil. They contain Omanyte, Tyrunt and Lileep."

"Ah." Isobel replies, unsure of what two of those Pokémon are. Though she doesn't mention how clueless she is, the scientist already appears to understand her puzzled look and he smiles.

"I can bring those fossils back to life so you can see them. Since you found them, I'd be more than glad to let you keep them."

"Oh?" Isobel replies, her eyes widening. "Oh, no, they're for the lab.. You wanted them, right? But maybe...well, catching Pokémon is hard...I might take one..." Her voice turns quieter as she bashfully rubs the back of her head.

"Of course, of course. Not a problem! I'll start the revival process. It'll take perhaps twenty minutes, the new machine has been a bit faulty lately, so drop by later." The scientist takes the fossils and hurries away into a room behind the counter. Isobel sighs to herself and leaves the lab. There is a bench nearby so she plops down on it and she opens her bag. It smells a bit, and it's quite damp, so she huffs. As she uses her hand to wipe away some of the water, she glances at the third Poké ball in her bag, the one containing the Bagon she captured earlier. She becomes tempted to open it up to look at the creature inside, but as she reaches for it she gets slightly nervous as she did with her earlier temptations to view it. The aura that emanates from it chills her slightly. And it's not just the aura - the ball itself is actually cold to the touch. She removes the Poké ball from the bag and with her thumb on the button, she takes a deep breath, and releases Bagon from its home.

A burst of light comes and goes, and the little Dragon-type stands on the ground, its eyes flicking back and forth to its surroundings. It then rests its gaze upon its new trainer.

It's pretty cute, Isobel thinks, I just can't believe it's the same Bagon that was so aggressive earlier...

Isobel reaches out with her hand, and as Bagon twitches its eyes at her she stops and draws it back. She realizes that might not be a good idea, just in case it bites. It was the same one that hurt her Flabébé, after all. She swallows and removes the glove-like device from her bag to see if it can tell her anything else about these strange "Shadow Pokémon". When she turns the machine on, a menu appears on the screen, giving her a few options. She is able to view a list of Shadow Pokémon she has spotted and the one she has already captured, as well see information about Shadow Pokémon and how they are created. "It's slightly odd that this menu decides to show up now." Isobel mumbles. She decides that the best thing to do is see information about Shadow Pokémon, so she selects the option. A loud, familiar voice comes from the device and quickly, Isobel jumps up, withdraws Bagon and climbs up the steps upon the cliffs so that she doesn't draw attention. Seeing as Team Phantasmo was disguised as tourists in Camphrier Town, it makes sense that they could be anyone here, and if Bagon's previous trainer knows what it is then so do the others.

Isobel finds a more secluded spot on the cliff that overlooks the beach.

"...these Pokémon," the device continues, "were originally created by Cipher in the Orre region, many years ago. Their plans were interrupted and as a result they could no longer continue the production. Team Phantasmo, a new Cipher, has successfully revived Shadow Pokémon. Phantasmo's ambition is to change some of the world's most powerful Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon, and using their newfound strength they aim to create an entirely different world. What kind of world this will become, I do not know, but I do know that if Phantasmo succeeds in their goal, named Project Y, nobody will be safe. My name is Peter, and I don't want such a thing to happen. But I'm a scientist with no Pokémon of my own; I cannot stop Team Phantasmo. That's why I hope that the trainer who receives this device, created by me, to stop them.

"This device can do a lot of things, including capturing Shadow Pokémon. Capturing them works in the same way as wild Pokémon; weaken them. To cure Shadow Pokémon, you must form a bond with them. Battle with them, stay patient with them. Be careful, as they are aggressive. They also are unable to evolve until they are normal. This device allows you to detect a "phase" that they enter every now and again, which is named "hyper mode". The Pokémon during this time will become even more aggressive, and very disobedient. They may try to return to their Poké ball, try to attack you, and even run away. During this phase it is best to keep them in their Poké ball until it passes. Eventually, the heart of these Pokémon will open up, slowly but surely, and it will get to a point where it seems as if they are not Shadow Pokémon at all. But they will remain as Shadow Pokémon, no matter what, until you use the machine that has been added to this glove. The machine undoes the lock on their heart that keeps them as Shadow Pokémon and purifies them. You will not need to keep tabs on the Pokémon's heart opening up by checking their behavior. I have already added a digital gauge to the glove. You can find it on the list of Shadow Pokémon that you have caught. Good luck trainer."

Isobel stares at the screen and rubs her head at the overwhelming amount of information.

Team Phantasmo is a new Cipher?

What is Cipher?

That man, Peter, is working for them?

How is she supposed to "bond" with a Shadow Pokémon?

"Wait," she murmurs, "there's so many of them, right? There has to be." In that case, even if Isobel wants to do this, there's no chance she can "purify" enough of them. How much time does it take for a Shadow Pokémon to bond with its trainer anyway?

Isobel looks at the ball containing Bagon and lets it out once again. "Bagon," she begins, "how do you feel about having a few battles with me?"

Bagon pretends as if it didn't hear her, and she sighs, remembering that this is how Shadow Pokémon behave. A patch of grass rustles behind her and she turns towards it. A white Pokémon with a horn emerges from it. She has already seen these Pokémon before. They're called Absol. The wild Pokémon growls lightly and it catches Bagon's attention, who turns around and glares at it.

"A-alright, Bagon," Isobel stutters nervously as she pulls out the glove device to look at her Pokémon's information. The Bagon is male. Its ability is Rock Head. The only move it appears to be able to use is Shadow Rush. It seems a bit strange, but it's a move.

"Shadow Rush!"

An ominous purple fog shrouds the little blue Pokémon and its skin turns darker and darker. The moment Isobel sees it a sense of dread overcomes her just like the odd fog is overcoming Bagon. The dragon lowers its head and charges towards Absol, which seems locked in place. Its expression seems to be a mixture of horror and surprise, and just as it begins to move to avoid the attack it is struck by Bagon's head. It's blown back, then it topples over, rendered unconscious. With concern for the wild Pokémon after seeing how ruthless Bagon seemed, Isobel moves over to Absol and checks it. It is fortunately still breathing, and doesn't seem to be harmed too much. She turns to Bagon. Though it is hard to do so, she forces a smile for it. "Good work. Just...take it easy, okay? Bagon?"

Bagon snorts. Though Isobel feels a twinge of anger towards it, she reminds herself that she shouldn't lose her cool. Instead, she withdraws it. The Poké ball is still cold, and she puts it back in her bag before heading back to Ambrette. It's been longer than she expected, so she decides to check and see if the scientist has revived the fossils.


End file.
